Naruto Uzumaki and the Chunin Exams (Re-Written)
by kvsyaoran
Summary: Book 3: Naruto and Harry must now face a new challenge: the Chunin Selection Exams. With wand in hand, Naruto will face the newest dangers and challenges of his life which will include perverted teachers, insane traitors, and an old friend from his past that he once forgot (RE-WRITTEN)
1. The White Cliff of the Southeast

"Blah": Talking

'**Blah**': Demon speaking/Inner Sakura

'_Blah_': Naruto's thoughts/other people's thoughts

'_**Blah**_': Harry talking to Naruto

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**You have on your screen the third volume of the tale of Naruto Ignotus Uzumaki's journey of coming of age. He wishes to become the next Hokage of his village. He wishes to become the greatest wizard of all time without the notice of the forces that seek to shun and be rid of him. But before he can jump ahead to his future, he will have to work hard. And this next challenge, Naruto is in for a real treat in his shinobi career. This time, Naruto will be entering in a traditional event held each year in one of the five Shinobi Lands.**

**The Chunin Selection Exams.**

**Naruto and his teammates Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha are most eager to join in and work behind the scenes of the festivals, fights, and contests held each and every exciting year. But soon after he and his friends have joined, Naruto and his spiritual companion and older brother Harry Potter will learn the truth of these so-called traditions and be back on the worn out tracks of the Triwizard Tournament as the wizards prepare for the threat of a new snake-like nemesis.**

**Fighting terrorist shinobi over scrolls, heartless missing-nin, and corrupt businessmen were just the beginning. Now the blonde-haired child must face perverted new teachers, toads with loudmouths, and forgotten friends from his past.**

**What other obstacles will Naruto Uzumaki have to overcome this time in his complicated life?**

**Azeroth44: (snorts) You are so full of shit, boss.**

**K: Shut up, Azeroth.**

**Naruto: C'mon, that sounded so cliché!**

**Iruka: Yeah, it was also kind of lame.**

**K: OH, SHUT IT!**

**AZ44: Random Titanic movie line!**

**K: CRAZY RANDOM FRIEND!**

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**Reviews are welcome and wanted!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto,**

**Harry Potter is property of JK Rowling and Warner Brothers**

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Chapter 1: The White Cliffs of the Southeast

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{{_The Hunger Games + Katniss Afoot by James Newton Howard_}}

The mists from the mountains that surrounded Konohagakure no Sato rolled down their faces and spread into the magnificent village. The large and famous civilization started to rise with the morning sun as it rose out from the eastern horizon and bathed the village with sunlight. Storeowners and workers could be seen out of bed and opening their stores to await their costumers. At the same time, some shinobi and ANBU marched back to their homes from missions while some marched out of their homes to attend to missions and earn to care for their families. There were also ANBU that were seen all around town and monitored the streets for crime and maintained order. Other than that, no one else seemed to be out and about at this hour.

But on this morning, there were two people that tried to sneak out of the village and into the forests. One of the two was a chunin-level shinobi that was rather tall, muscular, had tan skin, and was rather handsome. He wore his extensive, brown hair up into a perfect warrior's ponytail. He looked strong and appeared to have had some experience on the battlefield, because he had a thin scar that ran across his face at the middle of his nose. With him, there was a child no older than twelve that walked at his side. This child wore an orange and blue tracksuit and had ruffled blonde hair. The blonde child also had a number of birthmarks all over his face, which included a matching set of faded whisker marks, and a scar on his forehead that looked like a bolt of lightning, but was hidden under a headband. The child looked excited and anxious to move forward while his adult companion looked conflicted and confused once the two of them had entered the forests.

The two shinobi crossed one or two rivers and tread over numerous natural obstacles until the two of them found a trail that entered into a massive field. The duo crossed the field and walked passed a tall and dark forest that was closed off from the rest of the world with a tall steel fence. The two of them could hear noises and sounds that almost sounded like voices coming from the forbidden woods. The tall and tan man did not give the forest a second look and even looked determined to ignore that it was even there. But the blonde child close to him took an interest to it.

"Iruka-aniki! What's that place over there?"

The man named Iruka Umino looked over at what his little brother motioned towards and his expression darkened when he thought about the time when he was sixteen and went into that forest. He shivered a little when he remembered what was inside those forests and what he had to do in order to survive.

"It's called the Forest of Death," he said, "It's the village's most unstable training area. It's forbidden for all shinobi and kunoichi to enter without proper clearance."

The blonde child stared at the ominous forest with a mixture of fright and inquisitiveness, "Why is it forbidden, aniki?"

"You don't want to know. Trust me," he stated and then stepped over a bush and then he asked, "How much farther is this place, Naruto?"

The two brothers then marched deeper into the trees where the blonde preteen responded with, "It's a little bit further. I had to hide so no one could find it on accident."

Iruka ducked under the tree branch and felt cold mud sink in between his toes when he avoided hitting his head. There was a rainstorm the other night so it was no shock that there was so much mud all around them as the duo marched deeper and deeper into the woods. The tan-skinned chunin frowned a little bit and looked over to his little brother, as he was so much more ahead.

"Well, I think we're taking this a bit too far, Naruto," he tried to reason, "We're getting close to the border."

But the blonde child smiled and continued onwards, "Trust me, Iruka-aniki! It'll be worth it."

"What is it that are you going to show me, Naruto?" he asked the child.

The blonde child answered him with enthusiasm, "You'll see! We're almost there!"

Some time had passed and the pair soon arrived at what can be assumed to be their intended destination. The two shinobi arrived in the middle of a massive meadow, filled with six-inch tall grass and a small amount of exotic flowers. There were trees that surrounded and protected the meadow, while the sun that started to rise more and more filled the area with the sun. The dew over all the grass and flowers were reflected and let the meadow shine with life and radiance that left both the brothers mesmerized. Iruka, while mesmerized with the area, was a little bit lost to the reason Naruto wanted to show him this. Soon, Naruto held his arms out wide and ran into the meadow as he smiled. The tan chunin walked into the area and stared at all the flowers around him and noticed that there were no insects, such as bees, around to bite them or pollinate. There was something about the life around them that almost seemed to drive out the creatures but still sustained the life that surrounded them. Iruka then wondered what was it that Naruto wanted him to see other than this small but beautiful field. It felt like there was another reason for this meadow to be so significant.

Naruto swirled around a little bit and showed his older brother the field as he asked, "You remember this place, aniki?"

Iruka looked bamboozled and then looked around to piece his memories together and think back to where he last saw this meadow. He looked over a tree across from his location and froze when he noticed a massive shuriken that was lodged into a tree at the center of the trunk. It all came back to him at once when he realized this was the field where Naruto had saved his life, battled Mizuki to the death, and then mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu. The chunin smiled as he felt the sun burst through the trees a little bit as he was also reminded that this was where he had let Naruto become a shinobi and offered him his own headband.

"Your graduation was here… This was the same exact meadow… You mastered the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu here…" he sighed with a smile.

Naruto smiled some more and he told him, "Look at what I did to it!"

"Wait a minute," he answered back as the chunin looked over the meadow, "You did all this?"

The blonde shinobi's smile widened as he showed him his wand, "It was an accident back when I tested out this wand here, I think about the second or third time I tested it out. I was a little bit wild and decided to use the Herbivicus Charm on the area and run around a bit. It's a charm that causes accelerated growth in plants and I sort of overloaded the area with life. So I had a Fidelius Charm set around it so no one would find it and decided to make this a secret little hideout."

Iruka was amazed when he looked the meadow over and noticed all the flowers and realized the reason the bees weren't around because of the magical radiance from the charms his little brother mentioned scared them from the flowers. But soon he noticed Naruto had a small twitch in his smile and his amazement soon turned into suspicion.

"Wait… What else is there in here?" he questioned, "I bet there's more to this little meadow, isn't there?"

The child knocked his foot into some dirt and then said, "Yeah… But hold on a minute. You have to see this! It's brilliant! It'll be so worth it!"

Naruto beckoned his adoptive older brother to come closer and showed him an old and blackened teakettle. It was worn out and looked decades old, like someone had fished it out of the trash. It was cracked here and there and the color was worn out, which meant its conventional use was out of the question. Unless Naruto used his abilities to fix the teakettle, it was useless and deserved to be thrown out. Iruka stared at the teakettle with a flat face and looked over to the blonde child that beamed at him and showed him the kettle like it was buried treasure.

He asked him, "You're kidding, right?"

"You had to see it! It's a new charm Nii-san and I wanted to use," he told his older brother, "It's not a normal old teakettle, it's a portkey! We came out here to test it out!"

Iruka looked back at the kettle and asked, "Remind me here, what's a portkey again? That word sounds familiar…"

"It's a normal object that is enchanted to take whoever touches it to another location somewhere in the world. It's a form of safe teleportation, or rather, its another form of transportation," he told him in a rare lecture-mode.

The tall and tan chunin looked back at the old teakettle and he knelt down and observed it. But he made sure he never touched it as he noticed it shine or radiate this familiar warmth that he familiarized as magic. Ever since Naruto had revealed his ultimate secret to him, Iruka learned to be a lot more cautious, but never too cautious of little things whenever he was around his little brother. Not that it bothered him too much, it made his otherwise normal life a lot more exciting than it would have been.

About over one month earlier in the middle of the summer, Iruka Umino had discovered that his adopted little brother was a wizard. But he was not a normal wizard at all; Naruto Uzumaki was the last one in the entire world, if there were ever others out there before him in their world.

Naruto was also an ambitious, courageous, warm-hearted, eccentric, but brash blonde-haired shinobi that was determined to become the Hokage as soon as he could, which was a level of the highest honor and respect that a shinobi in Konoha could ever achieve. Back then when he was born into the world, little Naruto lost his parents and the Yondaime Hokage named Minato Namikaze had sealed the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox inside him. While the late leader of the shinobi regretted his action to save the rest of the village from destruction, his final wish was that the unfortunate child should be loved and treated as a hero. Which was the truth since his birth; because he was the reason the fox was never able to terrorize Konoha ever since the Yondaime sealed it. But the civilians and shinobi that resented the beast saw Naruto as the demon in human form while few others were able to look past that and see another victims, such as themselves.

What no one else realized from that incident was that a man from another world, a sorcerer that was once called Harry Potter had arrived in the shinobi world as a disembodied soul. The master sorcerer was soon attracted to the ritual that the Yondaime had used to seal the demon inside Naruto and was also sucked into the newborn child. The accident had altered the child and turned him into a wizard as well, with his own unique magical abilities that manifested at an earlier age than most natural-born wizards or witches. When Naruto was about six, he had met Harry inside his subconscious and the two started to learn to survive in the real world while the much older wizard started to teach Naruto how to use and control his remarkable abilities. The two of them were inseparable for each other and learn to love one another like two close brothers. Ever since their first secret encounter, Naruto had learned a lot of magic and he had been advised to make sure his abilities were a secret to all the shinobi in Konoha, otherwise the ignorant villagers and shinobi that made his earlier childhood hell would have retaliated with violence or decided to was far too dangerous to be left alive as he was a shinobi, a wizard, as well as a jinchuuriki, which was someone that contained a demon inside them.

The one shinobi Naruto ever trusted in the entire world with his ultimate secret was his older brother Iruka. The warm and handsome chunin-level shinobi had always been kind and supportive towards Naruto while he was his student back in school, even though the beast sealed inside the child had killed his mother and father, like it had killed Naruto's mom and dad. But like the few others, the chunin never saw Naruto like the more vindictive citizens did. That was because he wasn't an idiot and he knew that Naruto never asked for such a terrible burden. Not to mention the two of them were a lot alike in all the best traits, such as their mischievousness and their ambitions to do the world and others a lot better.

When Naruto had at last graduated from the Ninja Academy, Iruka and Naruto had become much closer as friends outside the classroom and the man had decided to take the child into his care as his adopted little brother, to which Naruto was ecstatic about. The two shinobi had decided on an agreement that Naruto would bunk over at Iruka's home whenever he wanted to or whenever it was too hazardous to sleep at his normal apartment, because his landlord was a violent drunk. Back then Iruka wondered the reason Naruto ever wanted to return to his miserable flat until the middle of the current summer.

Several months ago, Naruto had revealed his ultimate secret to the chunin when he had stumbled in while Naruto had a conversation with his other older brother about wands. From there and with a lot of trust behind the scenes, Iruka met the older sorcerer face-to-face inside Naruto's subconscious. Harry Potter then informed the chunin of the absolute truth and showed him all the events that led Naruto to who was now. As soon as he had learned the truth, Iruka trusted Naruto even more and swore that he would protect him and would hide the secret, as he knew no one that tolerated or mistrusted Naruto would ever be able to accept him or his incredible abilities. He even swore that he would never tell the Sandaime Hokage, even though he trusted and loved the old man. Ever since he learned the truth Iruka adjusted well to his new life as Harry inspired him to make his life count more and set out on little adventures like the one he was on at the moment. He was able to laugh more often and let out his more humorous side.

So, Iruka Umino stood there in the middle of the meadow as he looked down at the teakettle and then over to his little brother in a fashion that he used more often back when he was in his teens.

"So…" the chunin soon asked as he crossed his arms, "You hulled me out of bed to the middle of nowhere to use me to test a magical object that might or might not work at all?"

"I'll come too," the blonde child smiled and said, "If that sounds better!"

Iruka let his lower lip drop out little bit from his upper lip as he raised half his brow and looked a little bit bored as he shrugged and answered with a simple, "Ok."

The blonde preteen shook with excitement and fell down onto the meadow floor and close to the teakettle he had enchanted. The two of them stared down at the kettle while Iruka tried to remember where he had seen a portkey while he stuck inside the Pensieve hidden within Naruto's subconscious. He could remember them mentioned once but the memories were a little bit rushed when it reached Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts and he missed a lot of details. Still he looked down at that old but radiant teakettle as he wondered what he had to do, other than be an idiot and touch it.

"So, what are we supposed to do with it, Naruto?" he asked.

Naruto instructed him, "First, we have to hold on to it at the same time. Next, we hold on as much as we can and wait until we are close to the destination, then we release the kettle and land. It's that simple."

"Is that it? Sounds a little bit dangerous when I heard the word 'land'," the chunin told him.

Naruto nodded but then he smirked, "You're not scared?"

"No," Iruka looked a bit insulted, "I'll do this! I'm not chicken!"

The tan and tall chunin-level shinobi then huffed out his chest and tried to look even more like a brave man, which earned a little laugh out of Naruto as Iruka looked a little bit more ridiculous as he released what almost looked like steam come out of his nostrils like a bull, thanks to the cold air all around them both.

The blonde child soon smiled, "It'll be fine, I'm sure!"

"Naruto," the chunin said as his face turned blank and a little bit cross, "You said those same words last time when you fixed the toaster with magic; and we both know how that turned out."

"Oh, come on, aniki. That toaster was bad news the moment it was manufactured," the blonde child retorted, "Don't blame me for a bad mechanical internal structure."

But then the tall and tan chunin told him back, "You turned it into a monster and it chased us all over the house."

"Well… Ok, fine. We all make mistakes," he said out of stubbornness, "Give me a break then, huh?"

{{_The Portkey by Patrick Doyle/Doctor Who Opening Credits (Series 4) by Murray Gold & BBC National Orchestra of Wales_}}

Naruto and Iruka both shrugged as their memories of the unfortunate incident were tosses aside and looked to the teakettle Naruto looked a little bit nervous while Iruka did the same and released one or two beads of sweat on his forehead as he was about to reach the handle while his little brother was about to hold onto the rim of the old kettle. Naruto released his own beads of sweat as he looked over at Iruka and nodded to him after the instructions were reviewed but their destination was never discussed. Naruto then looked back at the kettle and started a slow countdown.

"One. Two. Three. NOW!"

The two of them both grabbed the old teakettle and in one instant, the effects of the spell were obvious. Iruka felt as if a hook had grabbed his navel and pulled him forward with extreme force. Naruto felt the same sensation, as both of them felt the feeling as if they were spun inside a tornado. Their feet left the earth and were now swirled inside the center of what was assumed to be a massive vortex that howled with intense winds and swirled with unknown colors. But as soon as the two of them entered the vortex, Iruka and Naruto both shouted with terror until the small blonde child listened to his invisible older brother and was told to release his hold on the kettle. Almost as soon as the two of them had entered the vortex, Naruto turned to Iruka and shouted at him over the intense wind, "LET GO!"

As soon as the chunin had heard him and turned to ask Naruto if he was insane, he had released his hold on the handle and started to fall straight down with his little brother. Iruka could have sworn he saw a field down below him zoom towards him or rather he zoomed towards it almost as fast as he would move if he ran with full access to his chakra. As soon as he tried to be braced for whatever to zoomed down towards, the chunin slammed into solid earth and tumbled down hard while he heard his little brother land close to him. Both shinobi moaned from the alien sensation and tried to overcome the sudden nausea.

Iruka moaned, "Owww…"

"Ohh… that hurt…" said the blonde child.

As soon as his vision was clear to see again, Iruka looked around and discovered their destination. The two of them had arrived in the middle of a vast field filled with fresh wheat and there were no trees to be seen for miles.

Naruto took a breath and could smell a familiar smell of the sea and could hear seagulls scream out in the distance. The tall and tan chunin stared out at the sea with a remarkable expression and he noticed that his sinuses had been cleared for some reason, which made his sense of smell all the more clear as he took into the smell of the air as his little brother did at the moment and smiled. He could hear the ocean as he listened to waves crash close. He stood on his feet and carried Naruto with him and marched towards the source of the sounds and smells.

The two brothers marched towards the source and discovered the end of a massive cliffside made of uncommon white stone. Down below them both and out ahead of them was an endless beach, continuous cliffs made of white rocks, and then there was the vast and massive ocean that led out into the eastern horizon. Both the shinobi looked out into the east and stared at the sight of which the two of them landed in. Both of them smiled, but then Iruka slumped down onto the grass and wheat while he rested his head into his hands. Naruto looked over to his older brother and sat down next to him.

"Aniki," he asked him in a warm voice, "What's the matter?"

Iruka looked up and revealed that he smiled and chuckled to himself. Naruto was a little bit surprised to see tears about to run down his tan cheeks. But even so, he still smiled as he looked out towards the sun that was about to rise.

"It's nothing, Naruto… It's just… I've been here before," he told the blonde child as he cleaned his face of tears and still smiled, "loads of times in the summer… These are the famous White Cliffs of the Southeast… Mom, dad, and I used to vacation here each summer when I was a kid for a whole week… It wasn't until now did I remember that I've ever been here on this hill with them both… All of the memories of all those summers here … All of them came back to me all at once…"

Naruto slid closer to him and gave him a hug as best as he could. Iruka leaned towards his little brother and threw his arm around him to hold him close while all those memories came back to him.

"It's been more than a decade…" the chunin sighed, "I had such wonderful memories…"

The blonde child smiled and said, "You can have one more here, then? You can share a new one with someone now, right?"

{{_Yangchen by The Track Team_}}

Iruka beamed a little bit more and showed off his white teeth and watched as the sun burst out from the horizon. Flashes and bursts of gold and scarlet came out from the horizon and shined warmth down on the two brothers with such unbelievable shades and tints that left them both stunned as the two of them stared out at the heavens and basked in the warmth. Iruka then remembered how he and his mother and father used to wait on the coast and watched as the dawn broke from the horizon and showered three of them with the same warmth Iruka and Naruto felt now. Iruka wished his parents were still around to see this with his little brother, but we was still fortunate that he was alive and he wasn't alone while his little brother hugged him and he had his arm wrapped around him.

But soon, Iruka chuckled out loud and said to Naruto, "I'll race down to the ocean!"

Like that, the chunin bolted out from his seat on the floor and ran down toward the road that led down to the beach below them. Naruto stood as fast as he could and dashed towards the same road and followed Iruka to beat him to the beach. The fenced road stood against the cliffside and continued down side-to-side until it reached the beach more than a hundred feet below where Iruka and Naruto landed from Konoha. Iruka was in the lead of their race towards the ocean, as he was taller, stronger, and much more agile with his experience on the field. Naruto tried to outrun his former homeroom teacher but he was a little bit too slow and had to use his chakra to increase his speed. But even with his boost, Iruka was still in the lead and didn't look as winded, as Naruto seemed as he zoomed down to the beach like roadrunners. All at the same time, the two shinobi laughed and started to remove articles of their clothes and their shoes to dive into the ocean with dried clothes to wear. Iruka removed his chunin vest and threw it on the sands once the two of them had reached the beach and felt the warm sands kiss their bare feet. Naruto removed the torso of his tracksuit and tossed it to the side while his older sibling removed his shirt and dove into the water, in the middle of a wave. Naruto had lost the race, but didn't care much as he stumbled into the sea and dove under a wave.

Naruto gloried underneath the waves as he was consumed with cool and clear salt-scented water. He never had the chance to swim n the ocean while he was in the Land of Waves, so he started to swim and had a taste of the seawater and then dashed to the surface to spit it out. As soon as the blonde preteen breathed more fresh air, he saw Iruka swim out so much further than he did. Naruto wasn't too shocked at his older brother, as he told him more than once that he was an excellent swimmer. He could even beat someone like Kakashi in a race across a lake he was so excellent. Naruto tried to look over some waves to see the chunin swim, but as soon as a wave lowered, Iruka had swum over fifteen feet out to sea and then swam back to shore. The chunin swimmer soon zoomed so close to Naruto; it caused the child to swirl in the water. While Iruka swam back to the shore, the blonde shinobi tried to backstroke but failed to swim as he sank into the water and almost swallowed some seawater. Naruto then returned to the shore and chuckled all the same and shouted out to Iruka when he discovered some driftwood that looked like a skimboard.

The blonde preteen shouted out to the heavens, "This is what I call a vacation!"

Iruka chuckled and started to run back into the water with the driftwood in his arms, he threw it down onto the water and stomped onto it as he ran. He then skid across the shore a fair fifteen feet before the driftwood lost its momentum and came to a sudden halt. Iruka then flew fifteen feet into the air and landed back in the ocean and crashed into another wave. Once he returned to the surface world, he shook some sand out of his ears and shouted as he dashed back for the driftwood and tried to skim the waves one more time, "WHOO-HOO!"

"GO, IRUKA-ANIKI!"

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Several hours later, Naruto and Iruka had swam in and out of the sea, bathed in the sun as it rose into the heavens, discover small sea animals in the water, and hunted wild crab and ate them for lunch with the aid of Naruto when he created a fire to cook them with. Iruka had skimmed the shore several more times with that same driftwood until it broke when he hit a rock hidden under the sands.

The two of them would then switch activities and have fun until the two of them were exhausted and the afternoon rolled in as both of them sunbathed for what felt like the last time. The beaches started to darken a little bit and time almost didn't exist between them as the two of them had so much fun. Naruto had dried and cleaned their clothes from the seawater, but the two of them still stunk of salt and wild crabmeat. The two shinobi watched the ocean start to darken while the sun started to sink towards the west. Iruka smiled as he sat back on his seat in the sand.

Iruka soon told his otōto, "I haven't had this much fun, since I was a kid…"

"You were so extreme out on those waves, aniki…" he told him back and then he asked, "Where did that come from?"

The tall and tan chunin smiled as he stared out at the ocean, "Ah, it was something Potter told me last month in that old mindscape. He told me that he wanted me to start to live my life and have fun while I'm still alive…"

Naruto smiled, "He has some of the best advice when it's needed the most."

"Heh," the tan chunin smiled as he laid his back to the beach and commented with a small smile, "What a little smartass."

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A little bit later, the two shinobi decided to return home or else someone back at Konoha would notice the two had vanished. Naruto used his wand to clean their clothes one more time and clean their hair of sand and dried seawater and then summoned the kettle to return to them at the beach. When it landed in the sand, Iruka and Naruto looked at the ocean one last time and then held onto the teakettle on the count of three.

Naruto announced, "One. Two. Three. NOW!"

The two shinobi were then forced back into the vortex but this time it was different as neither of them was afraid or distracted with their own screams. Iruka and Naruto observed the vortex a little bit and looked bellow them and realized it was the meadow from hours earlier. The two of them made sure to kick their legs a little bit and then released their holds on the teakettle and started to float down to the floor of the meadow as soon as the kettle landed next to some wild flowers. Iruka laughed as he descended towards the floor and then he landed, as he should have on his first time. Naruto followed, but he stumbled and fell when he lost his momentum. Iruka lifted him to his feet and then both marched towards the village.

* * *

{{_Story Book by Jeremy Soule_}}

Iruka and Naruto decided to head down to Ichiraku Ramen after their all-natural crab-lunch was dissolved inside their stomachs. The two of them headed towards their favorite restaurant and discussed their usual trivial topics such as the weather, work, missions, school, and future ideas on magical devices. But Iruka tried to dissuade Naruto when he mentioned broomsticks for the millionth time that week. Iruka was certain Naruto wouldn't be able to hide that well or if he would be able to manufacture one in time for Halloween. The blonde wizard than discussed jack-o-lanterns or wax candles that levitated around the house while lit, but then Iruka tried to dissuade his little brother once more when he told him it could be a fire-hazard if he ran into one on accident. Not to mention the burns that could come out of fallen hot candle wax.

"How is that no Hogwarts students ever suffered from severe burns?" he soon asked.

Naruto told him, "I dunno, aniki. But I bet that could be another reason not to enroll there."

"Yeah, right after a forbidden forest filled with massive arachnids, werewolves, violent centaurs, a hidden chamber with a massive snake inside, three-headed mutt on the third floor, carnivorous vines below that, a random violent tree, unstable tunnels…"

While the two of them laughed and discussed more ideas and fun activities, several civilians and vindictive shinobi stared at the blonde preteen with that same old and familiar hatred. Several of the civilians even hissed at the blonde shinobi when he checked some window-stores to scare him down the street like when he was a little toddler. Iruka then stared back at the civilians with a look so much more volatile that it scared most of them. The chunin also stared back and almost fumed at the vindictive shinobi as if he were a snake or some wild animal that defended its newborn. All the civilians and the hateful shinobi were shocked that another shinobi would hiss back at them like Iruka Umino did. He looked at them with a livid look in his chocolate-brown irises that scared them a little bit and reminded the more violent citizens that Naruto was under his care.

Iruka then rested his hand on Naruto's shoulder and led him down towards their favorite establishment while the civilians that had stared at them tried to walk or look back to whatever it was those random citizens had to attend to. Iruka smiled while he looked back down at Naruto and nodded while the two of them discussed what kinds of ramen to eat for dinner.

All was well and uneventful until the two shinobi ran into a familiar masked face, which was covered with a book with a red age-restriction label on the front and back covers.

"Well, look who it is," announced Kakashi Hatake, "its Naruto and Iruka Umino!"

Kakashi Hatake was a tall and lean male shinobi that was a little bit older and taller than Iruka. Kakashi wore a standard shinobi uniform and had silver hair that leaned to the left side of his head. He wore a dark-clothed mask over most of his face and wore his standard headband that covered his left eye. He also wore the same vest as Iruka but he wore fingerless gloves that were patted down with cold metal plates. Kakashi was Naruto's current sensei that taught him and his teammates and took them out on missions. He was heralded as one of the most skilled shinobi in the entire world, but he never talked about it. He was humorous, kind, fair, wise, and mysterious. Naruto continued to wonder what it was that was behind his mask and what he looked like underneath it, which was a reason he fascinated him. The blonde shinobi also liked his sensei because he was kind to him and was a mentor to him when he needed him the most. Kakashi was one of the few shinobi he had ever encountered that had earned his trust, and even earned father-figure status.

Iruka waved to the silver-haired man, "Hello, Kakashi-sensei."

"Hello, Kaka-sensei!" the child beside him smiled.

Kakashi smiled down at his student but then he froze and made a noise with his nose that sounded a lot like a hound would when it smelled. Kakashi leaned in towards his student and smelled him like a hound. Naruto looked a little bit unnerved at the sudden close contact and stared at his sensei until he was finished and looked down at him with a bewildered look on his masked face.

"Naruto… You smell like seawater and beach foam," he stated and then asked, "How come?"

The blonde preteen blanched a little bit when he remembered that his sensei's sense of smell was so acute, that he could have been a descendant from wolves. Naruto had to think of an excuse at once and hide the truth of his and Iruka's earlier mini-vacation to the sea. Otherwise he would have a difficult time to explain to Kakashi how he and Iruka were able to leave the village without notice, make it to the southeastern coast of the Land of Fire, and then come back to eat Ichiraku Ramen. The small blonde shinobi thought of the one area in town where he could smell like the ocean and used it as best he could, so that his mentor would believe him.

"Oh… Heh, Iruka-sensei and I went to the fish market to see some tuna, and I fell into the industrial lobster tanks on mistake… Heh…!"

Iruka went into the lie and chuckled as he added in real details, "Uh…Yeah, there was this area over the tank for customers to reach in and choose whatever lobster to eat and the rail that Naruto leaned on snapped and he fell right in!"

Kakashi looked a little bit incredulous about their tale and looked at them both before he nodded to them.

"Alright. Just be careful next time, kiddo," but then he turned to the chunin and smelled the air around him, "You smell like the beach too, Iruka… and crabmeat…"

Iruka almost made it look like he had lied until he told him, "Well, I had to dive in and rescue him. The tank was enormous down there; there was more than enough water in that tank to swim around in… But while we were there, we had to take some old crabs off their hands so we wouldn't be banned for life. It wasn't that bad. Crab can make a delicious lunch sometimes. Tasted a little bit wild."

The masked man blinked at the humorous tan-skinned chunin and he believed him.

"Well, ok," he said, "But I have to say that weird little tale is remarkable… You should tell all us jounin all the heroic details sometime. Makes me hunger for some boiled blue crab…"

Naruto added under his breath, "Roasted over a campfire is much better…"

Kakashi never heard the little mumble, but Iruka did and he elbowed Naruto a little while he looked a little bit unease at the idea to tell a total lie to a bunch of other shinobi he had never talk to. But still, he was earnest and nodded to the older man while Naruto fumed at him for that elbow to his side.

The chunin had answered with his nod, "Uh, sure. That'd be fantastic!"

Naruto soon tried to break the conversation between the adults and to move on towards Ichiraku Ramen with Iruka when he tugged at his trousers. The chunin looked down at his little brother, relieved that he could be distracted, as it would seem that Kakashi was about to head towards his home. The chunin faced the masked shinobi and nodded to him one more time.

"Well, that sounds like fun, Kakashi-sensei," he excused themselves, "Naruto and I are on to Ichiraku Ramen. You wanna come with?"

Kakashi shook his head, "No, I had dinner. Thanks for the offer though."

"Later then, Kakashi-sensei," he nodded one more time and then told his little brother as he attempted to pull him towards the restaurant, "Relax, Naruto, we'll be there. Our seats won't be taken once we're there."

Naruto said to his silver-haired mentor as he was distracted, "Later, sensei!"

"Heh! Don't forget about our mission tomorrow, Naruto," the masked shinobi told his student as he watched him calm down a little bit, "Tomorrow at seven o'clock this time!"

The blonde shinobi answered back, "Ok, sensei! You'll see me then!"

{{_The Story Continues by Patrick Doyle_}}

Iruka then took Naruto towards Ichiraku Ramen and soon carried him on his shoulders and laughed as more civilians stared at them. Kakashi watched as Naruto started to hum a tune and Iruka went with it as he marched to the restaurant. Kakashi Hatake sighed and then returned to his favorite book in the entire world and continued to read and blush as he headed back home to read some more.

* * *

(Fake dramatic logo scene)

TV-TOKYO & WARNER BROS. PICTURES Presents.

**Naruto Uzumaki and the Chunin Exams**

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To Be Continued…

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**There we are! The start of the third book of the story of Naruto Ignotus Uzumaki!**

* * *

**Before I start, I want to apologize to anyone out there that is upset at the story deletion on October 24th of the original version of Naruto Uzumaki and the Chunin Exams. Azeroth44 and I decided it would be best that I started all over and deleted the previous version of the Chunin Exams saga. I hope all those followers I had on that previous version find this one soon, follow it, and enjoy it a whole lot more since it's a lot more improved. I'm extremely sorry about this to anyone out there and I hope they find this story as soon as possible. ****My most sincere apologies :'(**

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**So on to the changes I made this time around, here they are: Better grammar, better paragraph structure, all songs have been secured inside these {{}}, I decided to mention the flashback with the monster toaster but not show it (since I never wrote the details of the endeavor before but I still wanted to make sure the story was still in tune with the previous two books), and I also deleted several random scenarios here and there, but I thought it was for the best in the end. I hope that this first chapter turned out well in this re-write.**

**Please be sure to review and let me know what you guys out there think. Next chapter should be out soon.**


	2. Foreign Visitors Arrive

"Blah": Talking

'**Blah**': Demon speaking/Inner Sakura

'_Blah_': Naruto's thoughts/other people's thoughts

'_**Blah**_': Harry talking to Naruto

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**The second chapter! Now that this chapter has been posted. It took some time to work out this one out, but I think this one turned out well.**

**AZ44: It looks ok.**

**K: Just ok? Look at the structure! The grammar! The-**

**AZ44: Yeah, yeah, we heard that bit last time.**

**K: You really love to piss me off, huh?**

**AZ44: (smiles) You know it!**

**K: (sighs) Well, I'll have Naruto and Iruka join us at the end of the chapter.**

**AZ44: Wait, why aren't they here now?**

**K: They're emailing a bunch of complaints about the story progress on your Doctor Who/Naruto fanfic, Naruto: Lord of Time.**

**AZ44: Dammit! Is that why I've had so many damn emails?**

**K: Please, Azeroth, I wrote half of them! Hahahaha!**

**AZ44: Screw you, man!**

**K: (cracks a pop and reaches for some popcorn) Heh! Let's have some fun! On to the newest chapter!**

* * *

**Reviews are welcome and wanted!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

**Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling**

**Batman characters mentioned belong to DC Comics and Warner Bros**

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Chapter 2: Foreign Visitors Arrive

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{{_Chicken Casanova by Murray Gold & BBC National Orchestra of Wales_}}

Two weeks later, the sun rose and the shinobi of Konoha were awakened to fulfill their activities. The sun soon shined into Naruto Uzumaki's apartment window and shined onto his face until he stretched out his arms and let out a long yawn. Once he stretched out all his limbs and was awake as he could be until he had his shower, he looked over at his bedside counter and smiled at the framed picture of his beloved mother, Kushina Uzumaki. His vibrant mother smiled back at him and even waved at her son as she noticed the condition of his ruffled blonde hair. It would seem that Naruto had enchanted the picture to move, ever since he had obtained his wand and practiced the charm that made pictures move.

Naruto sauntered over to the bedside counter and sat down in front of the frame and stared as he marveled at her uncommon and vibrant red hair while the wind blew it back and she continued to smile. Her son smiled back at her still and then he said with a warm and calm voice, "Good morning, mum…"

The blonde preteen then removed his sheets and retreated into his small kitchen for some breakfast. He prepared a simple meal consisting of two Poptarts, an orange, and a glass of fresh milk. Naruto consumed his breakfast food and stared at the tarts with a dismal expression. The blonde shinobi tasted the cinnamon and brown sugar filling and the taste made him think about treacle tart. Sighing at the thought, he wished that he could eat treacle tart instead and reminisced back to the time where he lived in the Sarutobi estate. Ever since Naruto could eat solid food, Hiruzen Sarutobi would present him with an entire treacle tart to eat for his birthday and it became one of his favorite foods aside from ramen. It was another of the countless traits he inherited from his invisible older brother, the love for treacle tart, which was another reason the two argued since Naruto was the only one that could eat or taste it out of the two of them. As soon as his mind swam with thoughts about their favorite dessert, the blonde shinobi shook his head and tried his best to not start another round with his older brother. He then stuffed the remaining snacks into his mouth and swallowed it down with the cold milk.

As soon as he was fueled, Naruto retreated into the bathroom where he stepped into the shower and cleaned himself and even brushed his teeth while he rinsed the suds out of his hair. Once he was cleaned, he marched back into his bedroom with a warm towel around his slim waist and searched his closet for some fresh clothes. He stared and then he frowned as he counted the collection of orange and blue tracksuits while he hesitated to reach for one. Naruto soon snatched the first one closest to him and threw it on the bed while the picture of his mother covered her eyes with her hands while he changed. All the while, the blonde shinobi tensed as he slipped on a white shirt and then zipped his tracksuit. Even though it was his signature outfit ever since the middle of his final term at school, he hated the tracksuit. Orange was the last color that a shinobi could ever wear on a mission, as it would turn them into a moving target. But soon he relaxed as he felt the weight of his clothes weigh him down a little and remembered that this tracksuit was designed to make him stronger and more toned out as he wore it over a stretched period of time. Until he found suitable replacements or until his muscles started to show more, he would continue to wear the horrendous tracksuit.

Once Naruto was dressed, he attached his weapons pouch to his belt, folded the white collar of his tracksuit down, strapped his kunai holster to his right thigh, and reached for his headband on the dresser close to him. But it was not there where he assumed it was. He soon looked a little panicked as he searched for his beloved headband in his closet, then his desk, inside his dresser, and underneath his bed. It wasn't soon after that did Naruto start to freak out while he searched his bed and threw his sheet over his head while he checked all the crevices around him out of sheer desperation. The blonde shinobi was soon threw his arms in the air and shouted as he searched for the headband that he treasured.

"I'm never gonna find it!" he shouted, "What am I gonna do?"

The other wizard hidden inside his mindscape took a look at his little brother and watched as he searched through his mattress and sheets like a complete fool when he could have used his wand like he would.

'_**Are you a wizard or not, Naruto? **__**Use the Accio Charm. You mastered it a while ago.**_'

Soon Naruto stood on his feet and cut the theatrics as he reached into his pocket and withdrew his wand in an embarrassed manner. His face filled with color as he twirled his wand, flicked it, and then cried out, "_Accio headband!_"

Less than one second later, the blankets on Naruto's bed shot into the air and this rectangular silver and blue blur turned its direction in midair, towards the child. The blonde shinobi outstretched his hand and caught his treasured headband with the same hand as his wand. Naruto smiled at the successful result of the simple charm. Ever since he had obtained his wand, all his spells were much more successful and effective. Back then, he used to use wandless magic, but since it was difficult for him most of his spells were not as strong as and was forced to use his older brother to help him focus and strengthen his magic when he needed to use it. His wand was at least fourteen and a half inches, made of the wood of an ivy tree, and contained a phoenix feather. He had obtained the feather on the beaches of the Land of Waves when a mysterious phoenix had appeared when he was downtrodden and offered him one of its tail feathers. After that it disappeared into the sunset and never returned.

Still, Naruto and Harry both decided to make use of the gift and created the wand with the assistance of their third brother, Iruka Umino. Now that Naruto had one at last, he practiced with it whenever he was alone and had developed astonishing skills as a duelist. The blonde shinobi was so excellent in a duel; he even disarmed his older brother in a flash, moments after the duel had started. Harry was beyond impressed as Naruto was able to master combative spells and curses that would place him on a Fifth-Year level and he was not even in his teens. Some of Naruto's favorite dueling spells included Stunning, Expelliarmus, the Shield Charm, Incarcerous Curse, Confundus Charm, and even a Blasting Curse when the situation called for extremes.

Soon, Naruto placed his wand down on his desk, tied his headband around his forehead and examined his reflection as he checked his clothes and polished the headband once or twice. Once he was done, he slipped his wand into his sleeve and waltzed out of the apartment and locked the door with his wand so that thieves would break in. He then stretched out and struck a pose that made it look like he was about to race someone beside him. He then used his chakra to soar down the hall and leap across the street below him with ease as he stared out at the wondrous and forested metropolis he called his home.

{{_The Mail by Patrick Doyle_}}

He took a deep breath and then he shouted out, "Good morning, Konoha!"

Naruto landed on a telephone pole and slid down a thick black wire as he descended towards the streets, switching from one wire to the next and sliding down them all the while. Once he was close to the streets, the blonde shinobi landed on the road and continued to run towards the reservoir where his teammate and sensei would meet for their missions. Naruto ran down the market district as fast as he could so that he could beat his rival Sasuke and be able to be alone with his crush Sakura. He avoided several crashes and was able to evade each collision that seemed unavoidable had he not used his increased chakra control to control his movements better and move around the endless swarm of civilians and adults. Naruto shrugged off the endless insults and shouts from the civilians as he continued his trek through the district and save time. But it didn't take much time until he did crash into someone that knocked him off his feet.

The blonde shinobi stood and apologized to the man he ran into but then he froze and stared at the fat face of his former instructor from the Ninja Academy, Daikoku Funeno. He was the worst teacher Naruto ever had the misfortune to learn from in his first terms at school. The man used to humiliate the child in front of the other students, but Naruto rebelled against him and terrorized him with endless tricks and mean-spirited pranks. It wasn't difficult for little Naruto to terrorize him, because Daikoku was obese and had little expertise in the art of the shinobi, but was still able to teach some of the schools most remarkable students and clan heirs. Iruka also hated the man because he had stolen his chance to become the new head instructor. Daikoku had taken his résumé and claimed it as his own, which led to his undeserved promotion. Iruka had hated him to no end ever since and waited until he could throw him out and show the world the fraud that he was.

Naruto want to kick him in the testicles while he had the chance, but had to be mature and be the better man as he dusted his own clothes.

"Pardon me. You alright, mate?"

Daikoku looked down at the blonde in an unjustified rage as he stared at him and recognized his face with his miniscule eyes, "I'm not that far from dragging you out into the street and beating you into dust, demon."

Naruto frowned at the man and said, "You should work up to that, Funeno. Sort of leaves you nowhere to go."

"I can go to your momma's and start a small fire in her panties, loser," the teacher threatened as the blonde child stared at him at the mention of his mother and cracked his knuckles, "You're not in school now, brat. So are you ready for me to kick your teeth in?"

Daikoku held Naruto's white collar and was seconds from one mean strike to his face, but the blonde retaliated with an unanticipated strength and unhooked his hand and pushed him back with even more strength as his chakra surfaced to his hands and enhanced his strength. Naruto decided to remain calm for the moment as he led the man into a short sense of calmness.

"You know what, Funeno?" he asked as he reached into his pocket, "You're right. It was an accident that I ran into you. And I'm really sorry about that. Here, I got a present for you, it's kind of a souvenir…"

Daikoku looked at him with a confused expression as he waited and anticipated that the blonde would present him with cash so that he would be harmed. But the blonde shinobi had another idea in mind as his invisible older brother snickered and waited.

Naruto then shouted out, "Oh! Here it is!"

It was so sudden but it all happened and the civilians around them served as witnesses. Naruto withdrew his hand from his pocket and used his chakra to force his foot right to strike Daikoku in the most vulnerable location as a loud crunch was heard. Daikoku screamed out into the heavens as Naruto smiled as the obese man fell and held his crotch while he howled. The teacher was livid but in too much pain to stand and peruse the blonde as he chuckled and then fled the scene. Naruto and his invisible older brother laughed while the older sorcerer smacked his brother on the back and thanked him for that. The civilians that had witnessed the scene shouted at the blonde but none of them were able to follow him as he vanished around the corner and continued on to the reservoir.

"CATCH YOU LATER, LARDARSE!"

* * *

Naruto soon scaled several other streets until he made it to the reservoir. He continued on the final road until he noticed his teammate out in the distance. The blonde shinobi smiled at the kunoichi with the vibrant hair and waved to her as he did each time the trio would meet here for missions.

"Morning, Sakura-chan!"

The kunoichi named Sakura Haruno looked over to her teammate and waved back to him a little bit and even smiled a little. Ever since their mission to the Land of Waves, she had been a little friendlier towards Naruto, to the point where she would acknowledge him in the morning whenever he waved to her. Their conversations with each other did not last even for a while and she still never used honorifics with his name, but it was an improvement compared to their earlier encounters with each other on missions and school.

She still waved back to him and greeted, "Good morning, Naruto."

Naruto smiled at his teammate some more, but soon frowned in irritation as he noticed his other teammate that stood close to her.

It was his rival, Sasuke Uchiha. He was considered as the highest-ranked rookie student to graduate in their class at the Ninja Academy and was considered to be Naruto most formidable rival to date. He had the same black hair that was parted in the middle with sizable thorns of his hair out the back of his head. His eyes were sharp and matched the color of his obsidian-hair, his skin was still more pale than normal and he was still considered to be handsome for his age, like he was one of those tween-heartthrobs. All he ever wore was a blue Uchiha clan genin shirt, with white shorts and leg/arm warmers. Sasuke came from the esteemed Uchiha clan, one of the various clans that founded Konohagakure no Sato.

The Uchiha were said to be one of the most fearsome shinobi families in the entire world, because it was said that the clan possessed a rare doujutsu called the Sharingan. It allowed the user to learn and reflect an opponents techniques and movements in less than an instant. But it was limited and relied on the reflexes and physical capabilities of the user that wielded them. But it almost came to an end when Sasuke's older brother and the former clan heir, Itachi Uchiha, had gone insane and annihilated almost the entire clan. Sasuke was all that remained of the infamous clan and dedicated his life to kill his older brother.

Sasuke did not like to talk about himself and he didn't like it when someone bothered him. He was selfish, had an insane superiority complex, and was often rude to his superiors as he refused to use honorifics or even be civil with them. It was rather unpleasant for most people to be around him, unless someone wanted something out of him or sought his approval or favoritism. Most of the people in Konoha that liked Sasuke were the members of his various fan clubs or random kunoichi or the civilians that had a crush on him for his looks, reputation, and his vast wealth.

Sasuke never cared for friends, or rather; he didn't want to be bothered or distracted with them. The closest he ever had to a friend was no one other than Naruto Uzumaki. About two months ago, while Team 7 was on their memorable mission to the Land of Waves, Sasuke was almost killed in a battle and admitted that he had fun with him male teammate when the two of them competed with each other during their chakra-control exercises. When the incident was over and both of them turned out alive and well in the end, the incident left them both embarrassed and bitter towards each other. This caused their previous teamwork and friendless with one another to deteriorate. So, now their rival-attitudes were back and looked even worse than ever.

Sasuke stared back at Naruto with a flat look on his face, while Naruto stared back at him and looked irritated. Soon both of them turned the opposite direction while their third teammate sighed and looked miserable.

Sakura Haruno, the third member of the team, was an average preteen kunoichi with less-than-average skills and abilities. She wore a red dress and dark-green shorts underneath. She had jade-green eyes and long bubblegum-pink hair that fell down to her waist. She never modified the color of her hair, which was unusual since it was an unnatural color that was unable to fade. Sakura was one of the sharpest-minded girls in Naruto's graduating class. She could memorize almost anything that she needed to know about the shinobi world. Which didn't come as a shock when she was in school, because both her mother and father were librarians. But while she was smart, she had a lot of flaws that made her a most unfavorable character. She was almost as selfish as Sasuke, she meddled into matters she has no business in, she was violent, loud, and obnoxious towards her other teammate and sensei, and she was biased to an unreasonable level.

She was in love with Sasuke and took his side on almost all matters and occasions. She was supportive at times with both her teammates, but she favored Sasuke more than Naruto and had a bad habit of hitting her blonde teammate on the head whenever he said or did something she considered was idiotic. She also had extreme limits on how much she claimed to know about the shinobi world, since she lacked Intel on Sasuke's infamous past as well as some details of the shinobi world, such as kekkei genkai, chakra control exercises, and other shinobi civilizations and traditions. All around, she was deemed one of the worst kunoichi of all time, unless she takes some control and shows her teammates and her fellow shinobi that she can do more than scream and watch while her teammates and sensei did all the hard work while on a mission.

Sakura moaned as she let her inner-persona have a word in, '_Great…the two of them have been like this ever since we got back from the Land of Waves… This is ridiculous…_**CHA! GET OVER HERE, KAKASHI-SENSEI!**'

* * *

It wasn't until two hours later and all three students were tired, irritated, and miserable did Kakashi arrive when he appeared over one of the numerous red arches that hovered over his students. The masked shinobi arrived and smiled down at all his students as he saw their darkened faces and their arms crossed in irritation towards their mentor and his tardiness.

He then waved to them, "Good morning, students!"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all turned around stared at their instructor as he hovered over them and it almost looked like he smiled at them underneath his cloth mask.

Sakura shrieked at their teacher, "YOU'RE LATE!"

Her teammate on the other hand, was not as cross with his teacher as he found his antics to be a humorous amusement that he looked forward to. He couldn't wait to hear what ridiculous excuse he had this time.

"Good morning?" he asked back at him, "It's almost noon! Where on earth have you been?"

Kakashi then told the three of them, "Sorry I'm late. I'm afraid I was lost on the road of life…"

"That's not the best excuse I've heard," the blonde shinobi said back with that unusual charm in his voice.

His teacher then smiled at his blonde student, "Well, at least I didn't fall into a lobster tank at the fish market, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto wasn't sure what his teacher meant when he mentioned lobsters or tanks. While Sakura chuckled at her teammate for whatever reason she did, he soon realized the excuse he and his older brother made when Kakashi had smelled seawater on him. Naruto soon looked a little bit nervous as he rubbed the back of his head and smiled.

"Oh… I-uh… That was a close call…" he told him back, "I shouldn't have leaned on those rails. Iruka-aniki warned me not to…"

Sasuke and Sakura looked over at their teammate as the two of them wondered a little bit more about the incident. But soon, Naruto tried had to distract his teammates and his sensei from the false account and tried to focus more on their missions, as he looked fired with excitement and the idea of another adventure. He did a little bit much as he clenched his hands into fists and shook with excitement and inner-fire, but he was a little bit more excited now and wanted an adventure.

"But forget about that! I'm ready for the next mission, sensei! C'mon! No more chores and D-Ranked missions! Let's see some action this time around, Kaka-sensei!"

Kakashi was a little bit overwhelmed with Naruto's sudden enthusiasm. It was almost like the child had turned into hot fire. The masked man had to hold his hands and let his student cool down a little bit but didn't want to kill his drive or be rude to him while he sweatdropped a little bit.

"Uh… All right. That's great, Naruto. But let's take it nice and slow, ok?" his sensei asked him in a nice manner.

Naruto continued to smile as turned over to his teammate. But then he noticed as Sasuke stared him down, which caused Naruto stare back at him in a similar manner. Sakura then stared down at her blonde-haired teammate with another irritated look as she believed he refueled the tension felt between her other two teammates. Naruto then went into a short dream-mode where he imagined a mission where he didn't have to be an idiot. He wanted a mission where Sakura would smile at him for once and Sasuke was the one that looked foolish. He couldn't wait for the time to come where he would save both his teammates and both of them were forced to admit that he had done it and looked so cool and so slick. It was there that Naruto decided he would shine a little bit, even though it was certain that there would be no incredible adventures this time around.

The blonde child continued to shake while his sensei watched him and his teammates continued to fume or stare at him. But soon, Kakashi's voice echoed in Naruto's ears and brought him back to earth.

"Naruto, when you're done dreaming," the sensei asked him, "let us know so we can start the mission, ok?"

The excited child returned to the real world and followed one of his favorite teachers as he led his students on to their first mission, "Yes, sir!"

"Naruto-baka," his teammate Sakura shouted, "Could you not be so annoying? Just for once?"

'_**Oh, couldn't she shut that damn hole in her face?**_' the sorcerer fumed as he imitated her voice, '**Just for once?**'

* * *

{{_Doomsday is Family Time by Hans Zimmer_}}

The team's first mission was to tend to a civilian woman's garden. Their client was middle-aged, irritable, a little bit overweight, and a little bit racist, which meant their duties had to be done fast and well. She needed the weeds to be removed, so her herbs and flowers could flourish. Naruto was not enthused that he and his teammates didn't have a more adventurous mission, but this was what shinobi did at their level. It wasn't all about assassins and unbelievable battles.

But, Naruto Uzumaki was in luck with this mission, because Herbology was one of his best subjects to date, next to Charms, Potions, and DADA. His older brother had lectured him countless times about the uses and hazardous facts about magical plants such as Venomous Tentacula. He could remember all the times he had to maintain them in spell challenges inside the mindscape and he would never forget the time he watched over Mandrakes in his lessons. It was one of the first times Naruto ever had to cover his ears from too much noise. In fact, he could remember that he had once fainted when his ears were not covered and he heard the creature scream.

The blonde shinobi used what he had learned from his lessons to real life when he watered his lilies and now when he and his teammates had to remove these weeds.

So Naruto and his teammates walked over to the client with their sensei. All of the students nodded to the woman while she thanked them for their assistance. But then she noticed Naruto and stared at him like a venomous insect and refused to address him as he did with the others. The blonde preteen remained still as a statue while Kakashi sensed the sudden distress in the air and moved to distract their client before she had a chance to make a remark or continue to stare at Naruto with blind hatred.

"Uh, miss," he distracted her, "What sort of herbs or flowers do we have to attend to?"

While the client was distracted, the three students headed to different corners of the herb-littered lawn and started their mission with the weeds. Sasuke made fast work and removed all the weeds he could see with ease, thanks to his masterful vision. Sakura took her time so that she would cut her hands or remove the weeds that looked a little like the herbs. Naruto took his own time as well, but looked over at Sasuke and notice how fast he moved. He felt tense as his male teammate dominated his section of the garden and outshined his teammates. So Naruto decided to look like the better student and teammate and make short work with his share of the weeds. The blonde wizard looked over both his shoulders to make sure both his teammate were distracted. He looked at Kakashi and watched him as he continued to distract the client and make her laugh. Once he was certain the humans around him didn't notice; Naruto used his wand, hidden in his sleeve, and waved over the lawn.

He then muttered under his breath while he concentrated, "_Accio weeds!_"

In one instant, all the weeds that he had waved over with his wand shot out from the earth with all their roots and the dirt that was carried with them. Naruto caught the weeds in his hands and tossed them to the side to throw out later.

Naruto looked over his shoulders one more time and checked to make sure no one had seen what he did. To his luck and sweet relief, no one had even noticed that he had used magic. The blonde shinobi felt a little bit bad that he still had to be so secretive about his abilities, but now was the time to tell this sensei or his teammates. So he knuckled under as he was used to now and continued to use more magic in secret to make his mission a little bit easier and make Sasuke look slower than him once he had doubled the amount of removed weeds.

He muttered over and over again while he waved his wand, "_Accio weeds! Accio weeds!_"

Several minutes later, Sasuke took a breather and looked over at his teammates. He then noticed at once that Naruto was almost finished and his mound of weeds was three times the size of his own sizable bundle. The Uchiha wasn't even close to finished while his teammate was hunched over and still at work as far as he could see. Sasuke furrowed his brow in subtle frustration towards his teammate and turned back to the weeds. He started to rip and tear through weeds and ruined innocent herbs and flowers as he did so. Sasuke felt one of the weeds cut his hand, but he didn't mind it as he was now dedicated to finish his section first and dominate Naruto as he felt he should.

'_No, he won't be ahead of me in this… An Uchiha doesn't lose to someone as low as he is…_'

* * *

About seventeen minutes later, Naruto stood beside his tall mountain of weeds and smiled as he hid his wand back into his sleeve. Sasuke stood next to his own mound, which was mixed with herbs and ruined flowers, but he had hidden them well. Sakura had done the least amount of work since she was much slower than her teammates, so her mound was no taller than one or two feet. While she had done the least amount of hard work, she still felt pleased when she looked at all the weeds she had removed and killed.

Soon, Kakashi summoned all his students to the front lawn of the house while the client went to the back lawn and checked their work. It was soon after she had entered the lawn, did all four team members hear a loud shriek and then a roar raw with madness. The woman client stormed out of the lawn and stormed towards Naruto as she rolled her sleeves.

"YOU," she roared like a mad dinosaur, "YOU LITTLE BLONDE BRAT!"

Naruto raised his brow and asked, "Excuse me?"

"You were the one that ruined all the sweetened herbs," she shouted as she hit him in the face, "You miserable monster!"

"OUCH!" Naruto shouted out as he covered his nose, there wasn't blood, but a red and blue bruise soon formed over his nose, "You mad old hag! I didn't even do that!"

The woman looked breathed and then shouted as Kakashi storm in front of her, "What did that-"

"Apologies, madam," he stated to calm the woman down and stand between her and his student, "There must have been a mistake while we were at work! It won't ever happen again, I promise!"

The woman fumed at the handsome masked shinobi and shoved their teams earned credits into Kakashi's hands and told him as she hissed back at the innocent blonde shinobi, "Just take the cash and get that filth out of here! He should be locked in a cell somewhere dark and cold!"

"Thanks, madam," he nodded as he lead his team back to the town, "We'll make sure to do much better next time…"

As the team marched on to the next mission on their list, Kakashi asked if Naruto needed medical ointment for his nose, but he shook his head and tended to his face while Sakura hissed at him for five minutes.

"You idiot, Naruto-baka," she shouted, "You had to remove the herbs? You had to make her mad! You had to ruin all that hard work! You idiot!"

The blonde shinobi said back to her, "It wasn't me! I was careful the entire time! I _know_ the difference between herbs and weeds, Sakura-chan!"

"I doubt that, dobe," the Uchiha remarked in a conceited manner, "Your pile was a mess, unlike mine."

Naruto was about to shout and accuse that Sasuke had lied, but then his sensei held him back and said, "Let's just forget about it and move on to our next mission. Alright?"

The blonde shinobi stared back at his rival in suspicion and then listened to his mentor and continued to march down the road with the rest of the team, but followed behind Kakashi. The dark-haired Uchiha then breathed and smirked, as it was believed that he had beaten his blonde rival for the millionth time.

* * *

Kakashi's team's next assignment took them across to the other side of the village to one of the rivers located in the western boarder. Naruto remembered this river, as it was the same one Hiruzen Sarutobi took him to sometimes for lunch outdoors, back when he still lived with the Sarutobi clan. It was the two of them and the ANBU escorts in the shadows. The blonde preteen remembered back when he used to wear overalls, and he would reach his hand out to touch the water and tried to catch a fish that swam in the river. He could still hear Sarutobi chuckle and then call him a little lion cub, since he acted like a curious cat when he tried to catch the fish. The old man must have likened him to a lion to make him feel more big and brave. While Naruto remembered his time with the old man, he smiled and chuckled a little bit.

Kakashi looked over at his blonde-haired student and asked, "What are you laughing at, Naruto?"

Naruto ceased his reminiscence and returned to real world as he answered, "It's nothing, sensei."

"Well, come on over here and grab a basket and tongs," he then called over to his other two students, "You two! Come over here as well! Grab some tongs and a basket!"

Kakashi handed each of his students a basket to throw over their backs and a set of grasping tongs. Their mission this time was to clean the river of the trash and liter left from the civilians that must have vacationed here over the summer. Naruto went to work as he reached into the cold water and tossed all the liter he could find into his bin. He frowned as he discovered countless trash and wasted hidden under the water and noticed there almost no fish in the water. It was a shock that the civilians and the shinobi would make such a mess and not care about it.

Naruto went right to work and tried picking up a lot of cans when he walked just a few steps in the shallow waters of the river. It was very surprising for him to see so much garbage recklessly thrown into such a pretty looking place. It was actually really upsetting for Naruto to see all of this trash spread out everywhere. People these days could be real jerks for not picking up their trash. The blonde shinobi was frustrated as he found used soda cans wedged between smooth rocks beside his feet when he noticed there was a bin beside the river for used cans and bottled waste.

'_It's not that hard! You pick it up and throw it into a damn bin! Jeez! Once I'm Hokage, someone will have to take care of this, or I'll be like Ra's Al Ghul on this village. Environmental domination, man._'

'_**Well, humans can be like this, Naruto. We treat the world like it's a massive bin. It's a shame, but sometimes a lot of people just don't care.**_'

'_Right. But it's not a bad idea, is it? That whole Ra's Al Ghul idea back there__, Nii-san?_'

'_**Naruto. For the last time; I don't read comic books.**_'

'_I dunno… You would like him…_'

'_**Who? Raz Al Ghul?**_'

'_His name was pronounced Ra's, not Raz. A common mistake._'

'_**Oh, forget it then, fanboy.**_'

Naruto reached down for another used soda can and threw it into his bin once it was cleared of river water. The blonde shinobi reached for another soda can but then he was shocked to see that it was unreleased. Naruto reached out for the can and examined it. It was a cola that must have been in the water less than a week. There wasn't a bit of algae or mud on it, and the expiration date was marked for another two months. Naruto felt the smooth aluminum metal of the container was cold and realized his thirst, so he cracked it and started to drink it.

Sakura looked over at her teammate and screamed, "Naruto-baka! YOU ARE SO GROSS!"

She and Sasuke both looked at him with disgust. Both of them had assumed their teammate was a little bit low in standards, but neither of them imagined he would drink out of a river or trash that was thrown into a river. Naruto looked back at his teammates and looked back at them as if both of them were maniacs. But he was still nice to them and offered some of his drink.

"You two want some? I can share! It's still fresh for another two months," he called over to his teammates, "Plus I don't have backwash! Honest!"

Sakura hissed back at her blonde-haired teammate and went back to work, "YOU'RE CRAZY! It has to have mold and diseases in it!"

"You are such a loser," Sasuke ridiculed his teammate, "You're that broke?"

Naruto dismissed both his teammate and continued to finish his treasured soda and went back to his mission with a wide smile on his face.

"Awwww… I wanted some…." Kakashi whined as he went back to read his book.

* * *

As soon as Team 7 finished with the river and tossed out the trash, their next mission was something Kakashi would have been delighted to do as well, if he had not reached the latest twist in his Icha-Icha Paradise. Their mission was to walk a civilian man's canines around the forests and clean after them in case one of them had to do their business. All Kakashi did was follow his students in the trees above them while he read his book and blushed while his students did all the hard work.

The three students were each tasked with one dog to walk around and clean after. Sakura chose the smallest one, a terrier. Sasuke had chosen a German Sheppard, while Naruto was tasked with the most massive and darkest-furred bulldog he had ever seen in his life. The blonde shinobi moaned on the inside and took the leash in hand as he followed his teammates into the woods.

The trio and their sensei traveled in and around the woods as their male client told them to in order to tire out the animals. Both Sasuke and Sakura's canines had done their business once or twice, which was evident when Sakura screamed while she cleaned the mess. But Naruto was nervous about his massive animal. Based on the size of the creature, it was certain that the mess would be unbearable to clean. He tried to control the massive animal and tried to distract the creature from nice areas where it could do its business, but was almost pulled into a minefield. Naruto had to pinch its neck and hull it back towards the road. When the team had walked over the woods a number of times, the massive canine looked over at Naruto and started to move towards a warm area in the woods that was almost like a natural toilet to the beast. The creature tried to walk towards it, but Naruto noticed and then shouted at the canine.

He shouted at the beast, "OI! You hold it in or it'll be bath time a whole lot sooner! I MEAN IT!"

The massive dark creature stared back at the blonde shinobi like it understood him and hid its tail between its legs and whined as it continued on with the rest of the walk.

* * *

Once all of their missions were done, Naruto was so tired from all his efforts that he almost fell down and fainted. Sasuke and Sakura were forced to hoister him on their shoulders. Neither of them had done as much hard work as their teammate, so it wasn't a shock that either of them was as tired. But the two of them were unaware of this fact and assumed their teammate was so much weaker than them both.

"You idiot," said Sakura in a rude manner, "You're absolutely hopeless, Naruto-baka."

Sasuke smirked and told him, "You really are just one big problem."

Naruto was soon infuriated at his teammate when he made that last statement and threw both his teammates arms off and snarled at the black-haired clan heir.

"THAT DOES IT!" he shouted

He was about to tackle him down and shake him senseless until his neck broke, but then his female teammate stood in between them while she threatened him.

"You so much as touch a hair on his head," she shouted utter malice, "You're dead meat!"

Naruto tried to dismiss his frustrations towards his male teammate, so he shook and balled his hands into fists of iron. Kakashi tucked his book to the side and sighed at all his students for their behavior.

"I suppose we're not making a lot of progress with the teamwork?" he asked them.

"You're telling me," the blondes shinobi shouted out loud, "Sasuke-teme didn't do half the work but he acts like he took the extra mile! If he weren't so concerned about looking better than the rest of us then our team could function like normal!"

Sasuke held his head high and told his teammate, "I believe he was talking about you, dobe. You're nothing but a waste of space," he turned his back to his teammate and then said, "For the record, I know that I am better, dobe. Face it. I'm better and stronger than you are. It's a fact," he then turned around and stared at his teammate, "Unless you have what it takes to prove me wrong."

Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi expected to see Naruto snarl at him and stare him down, but instead, the blonde shinobi crossed his arms and asked his rival, "You ever heard of the term, delusions of grandeur, Sasuke Uchiha?"

The Uchiha heir was taken aback when Naruto slammed him with the smart remark, but soon looked insulted as he should be and stared back at him with obsidian irises filled with utter disdain and resentment. He tried to throw an insult back at him but failed to think of one in time and instead chose to stare back at his teammate while Sakura looked nervous and Kakashi continued to read his little book, and smirked a little bit when Naruto slammed Sasuke with that comment.

Sakura stood on the sidelines, and watched as her crush and her teammate acted like sworn enemies and thought, '_Great, those two are getting along even worse than before, if that were possible…_'

Sasuke's obsessed behavior around his dominance over Naruto was stemmed from frustrations towards his defeat at the hand of the kunoichi Haku from the Land of Waves. It reminded him that there were still a lot of shinobi out in the world that could beat him. All he waned to do now was to maintain his dominance and dedicate his time to train and obtain more dominance over more shinobi around him. But he couldn't do that while he was stuck with these missions and a clever little Naruto in the mix. He had to train and obtain more strength in order to achieve his ultimate mission and kill his older brother.

While the two children stared each other down, Kakashi noticed a hawk soar around him and his team. It was a silent message from Hiruzen Sarutobi to come to his office at once. The masked shinobi looked back at his book and finished the sentence he was on and made a bookmark.

"Alright, kids. That's where we'll end it for now," he sighed with a tired voice, "You can beat each other to a pulp some other time. Besides, I have to file the report on our missions…"

Sasuke looked uninterested and turned to leave, "Whatever, I'm out of here."

Sakura held her breath and ran towards as fast as she could while her blonde teammate frowned in disenchantment as he heard her scream for the Uchiha brat.

"Wait, Sasuke-kun," she called over to him, "Let's talk for a minute!"

Naruto crossed his arms and he communicated to his older brother with a sarcastic tone in his voice, '_Well, isn't that sweet. Why won't someone treat me like she does to him__?_'

'_**It'll happen. Just don't expect someone like her in the future to come around.**_'

'_You really don't like her, huh, Nii-san?_'

'_**You don't know the half of it, kiddo.**_'

Sakura soon stood close to Sasuke and blushed while she asked him, "Why don't we… Um…I mean… You know… Let's do something more personal together," she held her hands and blushed some more while she tried to be more seductive like her mother, "To improve our _teamwork_ and all that!"

Sasuke looked at her with a blank face and said, "I swear it. You're just as bad as Naruto…"

The kunoichi froze and felt like the weight of the world had fallen on her shoulders as her handsome crush ranted about her.

"Instead of all the flirting, why don't you practice ninjutsu and make the team stronger? Let's face it. You're _worse_ than Naruto. It's hard to believe it, but that's another solid fact."

Sasuke's words hurt Sakura even more as she felt like the entire universe had fallen on his shoulders in addition to the world several seconds ago. She could have moaned out loud when she heard Sasuke tell her that she was worse than the student that had one of the worst scores of their final term. To be told that she was below Naruto Uzumaki was almost too much for her to handle while the invisible sorcerer that watched smiled at the miserable kunoichi as he noticed her shoulders fall.

Sasuke turned his back to her and started to walk back home to train while Sakura felt like she was alone or cold in a winter storm as she came to term with the facts, '_He's right… I haven't done anything to make a difference on any of our missions… I've done nothing…_'

Naruto had chosen to heave his teammate out of her miserable moment when he called out to Sakura and offered her to train with him.

"Don't listen to him, Sakura-chan," he called out and waved, "Your choice, we could train in the fields and improve out teamwork! How about it?"

Sakura did not look amused to hear him talk and developed a massive headache as a small red vein pulsed on her large forehead. At the same time, Kakashi turned into white smoke and vanished to another location to turn in his reports on the missions. Naruto looked behind him to see his sensei had left and when he turned around to talk to Sakura once more, he noticed a cardboard box with air holes slither towards him. The blonde shinobi faced the box as it froze when he looked at it and looked a lot more amused than his teammate.

The blonde shinobi smiled, "Hi, Konohamaru! Are there others inside there? Your friends are in there too this time, huh?"

He heard some trouble come from inside the box as three different voice echoed inside the obvious disguise. Soon, the box almost flew into the air when a smoke bomb was released inside and out crawled three small children that tried to breath act more like real shinobi.

"Udon-kun! You used too much smoke, again!" cried out a little girl's voice.

Another small voiced sniffed and said, "Sorry about that, Moegi-chan…"

"Get into character, fellas," shouted a small but loud voice, "The boss is here!"

The smoke soon cleared and revealed the three small children. Naruto noted that none of them even looked older than about ten. One of them was a girl with blushed cheeks, orange, doll-like hair that was tied up into two cute pigtails and she wore pink clothes with brown shorts. The child that had sniffled wore glasses and had normal flat brown hair. He also had a distinguished trail of snot that hung down from his left nostril, and wore a long sleeved, blue t-shirt with tan pants. The third child that had arrived in the box and smoke was someone Naruto was more than familiar with, his cousin and admirer Konohamaru Sarutobi. The loudmouthed child of the Sarutobi clan lived with his mother and father but also lived with his grandfather Hiruzen Sarutobi. The two of them knew each other for a while now and had come to care for each other like rival cousins, even while neither of them was blood-related or otherwise. Konohamaru and his new friends were now enrolled in school and the small Sarutobi member declared Naruto as both his mentor and his rival. Ever since his enrollment, he had tried to catch his older cousin off guard but all of hi efforts to this one were unsuccessful, as it showed here with the smoke and the box.

The three children now looked over at Naruto and twitched as Konohamaru told them to be in character and start their little show. The little kunoichi started the show as she twirled and faced the blonde shinobi that was at least double her size.

"I'm Moegi," she cheered with a wide smile, "The prettiest kunoichi from the Konoha preschool! Check me out!"

The child with the snot announced, "I love math class! Call me Udon!"

"And I'm the number one shinobi in all the village! Konohamaru!" the small shinobi wannabe shouted out loud, "And when we are all together we are-"

The three small children struck into individualized poses that all of them believed made them look cool as all of them announced in unison, "THE KONOHAMARU NINJA SQUAD!"

"So three kids come out of a box and the one with the glasses is named after a meal of noodles?" the blonde shinobi asked to throw them off.

His humorous comment caused all three children to fall down in a comical fashion and then laugh, as Udon and the others were aware that he meant no insult to it. The three children soon stumbled to stand and admire the blonde shinobi and saw the headband he had on his forehead. Soon, Naruto smiled as he walked over to his little cousin and ruffled his hair a little bit.

"So these are your friends, Konohamaru? It's a little bit strange," he mentioned as he noticed that the children were similar, "You three look alike in somehow. How is that?"

Konohamaru soon showed his older cousin that he and his friends all wore the same brand goggles that he used to have back before he became a shinobi and earned his headband, "You noticed! We started wearing the goggles you used to wear, remember?"

Naruto looked them over and then smiled once more and commented on them, "Oh! There it is! Not bad at all, Konohamaru! You look cute with them on, Moegi-chan."

Moegi started to blush and tried to avoid direct eye-contact with his brilliant-blue irises while her friend Udon scratched the back of his head and laughed a little bit when he noticed the blush on her face increased. Soon, the blonde shinobi looked towards the woods out in the distance and looked determined to leave the children as he felt his wand hidden inside his sleeve.

"Well, I'd love to stick around and chat," he told the small children, "but I have to train!"

The three kids all looked a little bit heartbroken and then Konohamaru told him with a loud shout, "You said you were gonna play Ninja with us, boss!"

"Oh, that was supposed to be this afternoon?" the blonde shinobi scratched the back of his head as he hesitated, '_Darn it! If I stay with these kids, they'll want me around until sunset! And I won't have time to practice spell casting in the woods this time._'

But when the blonde shinobi was about to make a decision, his teammate Sakura sauntered over to him like a zombie and stared him down when she had overheard their entire conversation. She was still frustrated with him over what Sasuke had told her and then she heard that her idiotic teammate was about to run around and throw fake kunai and shuriken with a bunch of little kids, like he was one of them.

She then told him with a dark look on her face, "You. Are. An. Idiot…"

Sakura continued to stare him down like Sasuke would, which caused Naruto to blush a little bit and smile, albeit, it was more of an awkward smile while the older kunoichi scared the three children a little bit and tried to itch closer to the blonde shinobi as if his teammate would attack them. She almost snarled at her teammate as she was reminded that her crush had told her that he was better than she was as far as shinobi skills were concerned. She could have hit him in the face, she was so frustrated and it showed.

Konohamaru looked curious and asked, "Boss? Whose that?"

"Who is she?" asked an excited Udon, "You're girlfriend?"

Naruto rubbed his own hair and was about to tell the two of them that he hadn't done much, "Uh… To be honest-"

"THAT DOES IT!"

Sakura had screamed when she assumed Naruto would tell them he was about to be married to her. She then stormed at her teammate and slammed him in the face with her fist and sent him off his feet and into wooden fence close to them. The wood almost broke from under him when he slammed into the wall as his three admirers screamed in terror when the wild kunoichi attacked him.

"Boss!" cried Konohamaru.

Udon and Moegi rushed over to their role model and cheeked to see if he was still alive.

"Check his pulse," worried Udon, "Quick!"

Naruto tried to sit while he checked his face and felt blood ooze from his mouth from the blow he had received for no reason. The three children worried over him and tried to move him while he waited where he was and healed. Konohamaru took the attack as an act of war and shouted at the kunoichi that had harmed his older cousin, unaware of how irrational she could be.

"WITCH! That's a she-devil! UGLY KUNOICHI!" Konohamaru yelled.

Sakura took the insult as an act of war as well and cracked her knuckles as she marched towards him to teach him a lesson.

* * *

Several moments later, Sakura Haruno marched back to her home to sulk about all the missions and the two idiots she had to deal with. She had slammed both Konohamaru and Naruto a little bit more and left them to tend to their bruises and swollen faces while their friends worried over them and asked if medical assistance was needed. The two cousins soon stood and continued to rub and tend to their bruises. But Konohamaru was vocal about it as he started to rant about Sakura while she was still close enough to hear him.

"That witch isn't even human," he ranted with a loud voice he couldn't control, "You see the size of that billboard forehead?"

Sakura had heard him and then turned her head back at them with a face that was so livid it made her look like she was the devil. Naruto and the three small children froze at the look on her face and then ran as fast as all of them could run while Sakura screamed like a wild banshee and stormed after them all.

Konohamaru ran out ahead of the others but then ran into someone much taller and wider than him. The Sarutobi child fell back and landed on his butt. He then looked into the face of the person he had run into and felt intimidate when he saw his face and his clothes, which were unlike anything he had ever seen in his short life so far.

It was a teenager that appeared to be a little bit older than Naruto or Sakura. He wore a voluminous black full-bodied suit with a red and yellow circle on the front. He wore a black hood with cat-like ears with a forehead protector headband stitched into the hood, which covered his hair from the sun. The male also had this strange triangular purple warrior face-paint, which was what made Konohamaru feel so scared. He wore black gloves and carried what appeared to look like mummified corpse, which was recognized as a chakra-controlled marionette.

The male teen seemed to be accompanied with a girl that was a little bit older than him. She had dark green eyes and dark blonde hair, which was gathered into four pigtails arranged around her head. She wore a single light purple garment that extended from below her shoulders down to her thighs, with a scarlet sash that wrapped around her slim waist. She also wore fishnet over her shoulders and down her right leg, and wore her headband around her neck. She looked rather beautiful but also looked like a force not to be cross with as she stared down at the fallen child and frowned.

The male of the two looked down at Konohamaru and asked him, "What? You want something?"

* * *

Kakashi Hatake made to the Mission Assignment Desk in a flash to turn in his mission reports. He was then welcomed with Iruka Umino, who was at the desk at the time without the familiar old man beside him for once as he sorted out documents. It was common to see instructors from the school, work here over the summer, which was a little bit of a bore, but this enabled Iruka to earn some extra cash and see Naruto more often.

At this, Kakashi was now aware of the relationship between his blonde student and the chunin. But that's not to say that it was something he encouraged or approved. He felt that Iruka was smothered Naruto like a small child or a toddler that shielded him from the real shinobi world and held him back. He hid his honest opinion on the matter and decided he would not voice his concerns until it was time. So for now, he was civil with the tan-skinned chunin while he handed him over the documents he filed out.

The masked shinobi said, "There we are, Iruka-sensei."

"Alright, thanks for the report Kakashi-sensei," the warm-hearted chunin nodded as he sorted the documents to the side and then addressed the masked man with subtle amount of concern in his voice, "Listen, I've wanted to ask; how is Naruto doing with the other students? Is he getting along with them well?"

Kakashi stared at the chunin for a moment and looked to the side as he sweat a little bit, "Uh… He's getting there…"

Iruka tossed aside some more documents and answered back, "It's been such a wild mess these two weeks with this season's Chunin Exams almost here… I won't be able to see Naruto as much… I know it's a little bit foolish, but I worry about him sometimes…"

Kakashi sighed and said, "You know how it is, Iruka-sensei… Sasuke Uchiha is on the team as well. Naruto sees him as a rival and that sort of puts some strain on the group. But it's pushed Naruto to excel in his missions, and he's made some incredible progress. He's always trying to improve himself and hone his skills so he can catch up to his hero. You."

Iruka felt a bit of little color rush to his face as he chuckled as the masked shinobi smiled at him, "You don't say?"

"But still, Naruto is showing some amazing improvement compared to his last test scores from school," the masked shinobi commented, "It's a little bit strange. It's almost like he's learning this stuff like magic or something," Kakashi speculated out loud.

Iruka couldn't help it when he snorted at that last sentence and continued to chuckle. Kakashi was a little bit uncomfortable as the chunin laughed and tried to contain whatever it was that he found was so hilarious and started to itch towards the door behind him.

The tan-skinned chunin contained himself soon and thought, '_Yeah! It _must_ be magic!_'

* * *

{{_Sirius' Letter by Patrick Doyle_}}

At the same time, an adult kunoichi with long raven hair and scarlet vampire-like eyes watched over three students that were exhausted from exercises and lessons. She wore mesh armor, a red blouse, and had one visible red sleeve. Her outfit looked almost like it was made out of bandages or cover with them. She wore her forehead protector headband like a normal shinobi, but she lacked a standard flak jacket. Her name was Kurenai Yuhi, a jounin-level shinobi and leader of Team 8.

She looked up towards the skies when she heard a hawk shriek above her and her team and came to the same conclusion as Kakashi did moments earlier.

She wondered out loud, "What is it this time?"

In another location in Konoha, a large jounin sat outside of a food store with his own rookie team. It looked like the team was in the middle of a break or a late lunch when the muscular instructor looked above his students. The instructor was tall and muscular as mentioned, had brown irises, short black spiked hair and a thick beard that matched. His clothes consisted of a standard Konoha shinobi uniform complete with the flak jacket and headband. But he wore a white sash around his waist with the kanji for "fire" marked on it, and a bracelet on both of his thick wrists.

He also noticed the same hawk as Kurenai and Kakashi saw and continued to smoke his cigarette while his students ate and drank in bliss. The man's name was Asuma Sarutobi, he was Konohamaru's uncle, one of the Hiruzen's sons, and the current leader to Team 10.

He wondered as he stared at the hawk, '_I wonder what dad wants now?_'

* * *

Back with Naruto and his three little friends, the shinobi that Konohamaru ran into lifted the small child from his collar and rose him to his level while he choked the innocent child.

"Konohamaru!" cried out all his friends.

The painted person smirked at the small child and asked him, "So, does this hurt, kid?"

The shinobi choked Konohamaru some more until his face started to turn a little bit red. He smiled and raised the kid a little bit more as he stared him down like an animal would. But soon the shinobi's female companion ordered him to release the child.

"Put him down, Kankuro," she told him, "If Gaara sees this, he'll be-"

Sakura tried to dissuade the actions of the intruders while she looked insecure with her hands close to her chest, "Listen, I was the one that chased him down so leave him alone… or… I… um…"

The timid kunoichi shot a mean look from the one named Kankuro, which caused her to shut her mouth, while Naruto stared at him and the other kunoichi and observed their headbands.

'_Who are these clowns?_'

'_**See the mark on their headbands?**_'

'_I know that one… That's the mark of Suna…_'

'_**Sunagakure no Sato.**_'

'_The Village Hidden in the Sand… But what are these two out here for?_'

Konohamaru started to choke some more and his face turned redder, as Naruto noticed. He stared Kankuro down and ordered him in a low and stern voice that should have sent shivers down his spine if the shinobi cared to look at blonde preteen's livid face.

He ordered the shinobi, "Put him down. Right now."

The teen named Kankuro noticed Naruto's headband and recognized him and his teammate as the local rookie shinobi. He smirked at the blonde and continued to raise Konohamaru above the earth. Kankuro mocked the shinobi and decided to continue torment the child in his hands.

'_Those two are rookie soldiers?_' he smiled and then said out loud to his teammate, "We have a few minutes before our little brother arrives. So let me make a mess out of this one, huh?"

Konohamaru was timorous and wanted to go to back home and forget this even happened. But he insisted on being brave and didn't want to look scared or weak in front of his idol or his best friends, so he tried to kick at Kankuro's chest and shouted, "Put me down! NOW! Put me down!"

Konohamaru tried to kick at Kankuro's chest and it didn't even make him move a bit.

Kankuro smirked as the child had some luck and kicked his chest once so he cut off his breath, "You're energetic. But let's fix that."

He tightened his grip and caused Konohamaru to start gurgling and cough as his face turned blue. Naruto's eyes turned livid and deadly, so he focused his chakra to his feet, much more chakra than he knew as his feet almost burned from the excess. Udon and Moegi started to blubber a little bit while the blonde kunoichi named Temari looked irritated or bored with the situation.

She told his idiotic teammate, "Fine. But I'm not involved with this. Is that understood?"

"Loud and clear," the shinobi answered as he smiled.

Kankuro reeled back his arm and was about to punch Konohamaru in the face. But, then two things happened at the same time that caused him to freeze. Sasuke had returned to the scene inside the tree that hovered over the entire scene. He wanted to look like the better man and look cool when he threw a small rock that hit Kankuro's hand and was one of the reasons he froze in mid-action. But Kankuro was oblivious to that stone thrown at him when he felt a cold blade kiss the skin on his throat. Naruto had vanished out of thin air and then appeared behind Kankuro without a noise as he threatened to cut his throat with the blade in his hand. The shinobi that wore the cowl remained still as he continued to hold Konohamaru around the neck. He tried to look over at the shinobi behind him and saw blonde hair and blue irises. The blood in his head rushed down to his feet as he felt sweat roll down his forehead and he continued to stare at the livid Naruto Uzumaki.

All those that had witnessed the scene were left breathless and dumbfounded. Sakura did not even know that her teammate had even moved. Udon and Moegi both held their breath and then their tears vanished as the two of them smiled and cheered their idols name. Sasuke on the other hand, looked furious or frustrated when no one had even noticed him. He then looked envious of his teammate when he had noticed how fast he had moved when he threatened the still-frozen Kankuro.

'_How is that even possible?_' he asked to no one, '_Only a jounin at Kakashi's level are skilled enough to move that fast… How did Naruto move like that?_'

The Uchiha crumbled a small stone in his hand out of frustration, which somehow earned his female teammate's attention when she heard his voice mumble in frustration as she forgot about Naruto's remarkable moment as she screamed at her obvious crush, "Sasuke-kun! You came back! YAY!"

The blonde-haired kunoichi named Temari stared at Naruto as she dismissed his other two teammate and admired how fast he moved while she feared for her own teammate when she saw the blade against his throat, '_How in the world did he move so fast?_'

Naruto stared down at Kankuro with his livid face frozen. He then heard as Konohamaru continued to choke as he tried to breath. The blonde shinobi pressed the blade against his throat even more as his blue irises shined with deadliness. Kankuro felt some of his blood ooze out from a small cut and run down his neck, all the while, Naruto continued to stare down at him.

The blonde shinobi then forced out a command, "Put. Him. Down. Now."

Kankuro would have told him to leave him well alone, but he had a blade against his throat. Not to mention Naruto intimidated him with his fierce face and the voice that reminded him of the devil. He listened to his demand and released Konohamaru and let him breathe again. The small child scrambled to his feet and retreated back to his two best friends.

"Konohamaru!" Udon and Moegi both cried as their friend was released and returned to them.

In one smooth movement, the blonde shinobi hid his blade and clenched the back of Kankuro's clothes. He then used his chakra and threw the black-clad shinobi into the wooden wall furthest from the blonde kunoichi that stared and watched as her teammate crashed into the wall and broke several thick wooden boards from the force of Naruto's thrust. The blonde shinobi then stomped his foot into Kankuro's chest and scolded him with malice in his voice.

"You foul, loathsome, evil, little cockroach! You come here to our village and tried to beat some kid that's less than half your size? You should think next time. You could have started an international crisis if one hair on his head was even harmed, scum," the blonde shinobi stomped him in the chest hard and turned to Temari for answers, "Now… You two aren't locals… So, what are two shinobi from Suna doing here in Konoha? On a mission?"

The kunoichi looked a bit flustered or intimidated at the intense blonde shinobi, so she stuttered a little bit as he stared at her. But then she was silenced as another voice echoed out of the shadows of a tree where Sasuke had rested. The voice caused all the shinobi and children in the area to freeze.

"_Kankuro. Temari. What are you two __doing__?_"

Sasuke and the other turned towards the voice in the tree and saw a male shinobi about the same age and height as Naruto. He had pale skin and short, disheveled hair that was dark-red in color. The preteen's irises were this unusual sea-foam emerald while his pupils were almost invisible. He had no eyebrows but had raccoon-like black marks or bruises around his eyes. On his forehead, there was a red tattoo that looked very similar to the scar on Naruto's forehead. But the tattoo was shaped into the kanji that meant the word "love" in the same area as the blonde shinobi's famous scar. He wore a black full-bodied suit with t-shirt like sleeves with an open neck and pants. With this, he wore a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips, and a wide leather band system over the left shoulder and the right side of his hips. With this leather band, he carried around a huge gourd that was as massive as he was. He tied his headband, which bore the sign of Sunagakure no Sato, over this leather band, which finished his ensemble.

All the shinobi, kunoichi, and small children that saw him felt a little bit fearful when the redhead used that tone in his voice, like he was slothful, irritated, and murderous. Temari and Kankuro both started to sweat when the small child addressed them both and crossed his arms.

Kankuro twitched and then stuttered, "Oh! H-hello, Gaara! You're here!"

"You are a disgrace to our entire village," said the small shinobi named Gaara with a miserable voice, "You've forgotten the reason that we are even here?"

Kankuro stood on his feet and dusted his clothes while he stuttered, "Uh, I know! I-I-I mean, _that blonde kid_ over there challenged us! He started it! Honest! He hit me! Here's what-"

"Shut up…" the small shinobi said as the older one twitched, "… Or else I'll kill you…"

Kankuro twitched once more and his skin lost a lot of color while Naruto and his friends watched as he was transformed into a submissive student, "Oh! Right! I was out of line! Gomenasai, Gaara! Please, I was out of line!"

The shinobi named Gaara looked down at Naruto and saw the small children that he seemed to command as the small trio hid behind him and he said, "I apologize for all the trouble he caused…"

The redhead stared at Naruto and thought, '_Impressive… The blonde one somehow managed to reach Kankuro in a flash. It seems that I was the only one that could follow his movements. And that black-haired human over there had a nice aim at Kankuro as well… I should keep an eye on them both…_'

In a sudden movement, Gaara had vanished in a swirl of dust and he reappeared in between his two companions and stood as he continued to face the blonde shinobi that caused his older teammate to bruise and bleed.

"Let's go," he demanded from his two companions, "We didn't come here to act like children. Much less be surrounded with them."

Kankuro nodded and said at once, "Sure. Alright."

But as the three shinobi turned to leave, Sakura stormed out ahead of her blonde teammate and frowned at the trio that had accosted them. She threw Naruto behind her while her other teammate watched as she shouted out at the trio.

"WAIT! HOLD IT!" her voice cried out, "GET BACK HERE, YOU MORONS!"

Naruto tried to hold her back but the trio had turned around once more, "Sakura-chan, wait a minute-"

"What?" asked the kunoichi named Temari.

Sakura ranted with an obnoxious voice and a know-it-all tone to boot, "I can tell from those headbands that you three come from Sunagakure no Sato! Of course the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind are allies, but no shinobi can enter another's village without permission. So state your purpose and it better be excellent!"

"You're kidding," laughed Temari, "What? Has this village made it a secret for rookies to know? It's almost the autumn season, what else could we be here for?"

Temari reached into her pocket and withdrew her identification card and certification that made it obvious that she had permission to enter the village along with her teammates. Her picture was so similar to how she looked now, which meant the card was fresh as she shined the card in Sakura's face.

"Here," she mocked Sakura's stuck-up attitude, "We have our _permission slips_, school-girl. We're here to enter in the Chunin Exams."

Naruto looked a little bit shocked and he wondered out loud, "The Chunin Exams? I didn't know it was held in the fall. It's kind of a short notice for us here."

"Boss? Boss!" Konohamaru and his friends surrounded their blonde leader and asked him, "You're gonna take the exams, boss? Huh? Huh?"

Naruto looked to all three of his small friends and smiled, "Sure. It sounds like it could be fun."

With the blonde shinobi and his friends distracted with a discussion on the Chunin Exams, Gaara and his two mates turned to leave and find a nice hotel in town. But then Sasuke, fueled with frustration that he was not even noticed, decided to come down from the tree and address the warriors from Suna as if he were a police officer hell-bent on an arrest.

"Get back here!" he shouted, "Identify yourself! Right this second!"

Temari looked around and asked, "Who? All of us?"

"No. You can shut up. I want to know who he is," he pointed at the one in the middle in a rather rude manner, "The one with the red hair. Who is he? I want an answer now, ginger."

Naruto frowned and told off his teammate, "The two of them said he was Gaara, teme. You didn't hear them? Twice?"

Sasuke dismissed his teammate and stared at Gaara, as he looked at him and addressed his full name to the discourteous Uchiha, "I am Sabaku no Gaara from Suna… And I'm curious to know your names as well. You the rude one and the fast blonde one."

Sasuke smirked just so that he could upstage Naruto, "I am Sasuke Uchiha, heir and leader of the Uchiha Clan."

Sakura felt the cold shivers as he listened to her crush address his full name and status, but it would seem that she was alone in admiration towards Sasuke this time. Gaara didn't seem to care and none of the school kids that followed Naruto around did either, but instead watched as Sasuke made an ass of himself in front of them with his uncouth behavior.

Naruto turned his head at his teammate and stated, "Oh, kill me. Please."

Sasuke shot his teammate a fierce look and hissed for him to shut his face. Sakura also hissed at her blonde teammate as he ruined the moment for both of them. Back with the Suna trio, Temari couldn't help but snort a little at Naruto's small comment on the introduction while her brother Kankuro crossed his arms and also shot a fierce look at the blonde shinobi as he rubbed his neck. The smallest of the trio looked over at Naruto and observed his unusual clothes and the aura he radiated.

Gaara looked him over and then asked for his name, "You are?"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki," he answered, "a shinobi of Konoha."

Gaara let the wind blow his hair for a few moments and allowed a moments silence to commence as he continued to observe Naruto and his dark-haired teammate. Once he was done with his observation, he turned to leave with his two teammates. Kankuro shot Naruto another look but soon followed his sister and brother while Temari started to discuss their hotel situation. Back with Naruto and the others, Sasuke smirked at the trio from Suna and acted like he had shown them who was boss while Sakura continued to admire him. Meanwhile, Naruto checked over Konohamaru when he started to bounce on his feet and admire his older cousin.

Konohamaru and his friends surrounded Naruto for his cool-moment back with Kankuro, "Boss! Boss! That was so cool! You were super duper cool! You disappeared and then that big idiot was so scared! You kicked his butt! Tell us how to do that! C'mon! Please!"

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To Be Continued…

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**There we have it! The newest chapter, folks! I hope it was good!**

**Naruto: It's close to the original.**

**Iruka: Except it's written a whole lot better.**

**Naruto: I loved the part where I kicked Kankuro's ass and showed up Sasuke-teme!**

**K: We all love those those kind of bits!  
**

**AZ44: I can agree with that.**

**K: (smirks) That reminds me; what sort of awesome moments do you have written for your fanfic?**

**AZ44: SHUT UP!**

**K: Heheheh! Gets me every time!**

**Naruto: It's never gonna get old!**

**Iruka: I know, right?**

**AZ44: It's not gonna be funny once I transform into a dragon and go Deathwing on your asses!**

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**Heh! Please make sure to leave behind a review if you guys can and let me know what you think of the new and improved fanfic chapters so far! The next chapter should be up soon! See you guys then!**


	3. Iruka vs Kakashi

"Blah": Talking

'**Blah**': Demon speaking/Inner Sakura

'_Blah_': Naruto's thoughts/other people's thoughts

'_**Blah**_': Harry talking to Naruto

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**Here it is, the third chapter in of the re-write! I sure hope I can earn back all those reviews and followers from the previous version soon.**

**AZ44: Well… You can hope for that.**

**K: I suppose so. I feel bad for not waiting a little bit to let other people out there know.**

**AZ44: Well… I'm sure the readers out there will be able to find it.**

**K: I hope so… Wait a minute… You're being supportive?**

**AZ44: Yeah.**

**K: What the catch? Where the explosion?**

**AZ44: What explo-**

**(KA-BOOM!)**

**(Audio recording) Please enjoy the new chapter until Azeroth44 fixes the lair from his randomness. Remember to review and tell me what you readers out there like. **

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**Reviews are welcome and wanted!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

**Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling**

**Batman characters mentioned belong to DC Comics and Warner Bros**

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Chapter 3: Iruka vs. Kakashi

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{{_The Goblet of Fire by Patrick Doyle_}}

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, sat down at his desk in the central office of the Konoha Administration Building. He had summoned numerous jounin-level shinobi and several of the chunin and various other ranks in order to spread the word of the latest and most urgent news that concerned them all. The room was then filled with countless shinobi of all shapes, sizes, colors, and genders. But as the room started to fill, all of them couldn't help but wonder what their esteemed leader wanted to tell them. Several of the older shinobi in the room had an idea what the Hokage wanted, but remained still and waited as the rest of those that were summoned arrived one at a time. Several of the chunin in the room were oblivious to the curious new faces that had arrived in the village, but would soon be brought up to speed on the events that were about to unfold.

The wise old man cleaned out the burnt tobacco from his infamous oak pipe and replenished it with fresh tobacco and was able to light it without the use of a match or even a fire source. The shinobi were curious as to how he was able to do that, but it could be assumed that since Hiruzen Sarutobi was considered the strongest shinobi in the world, he could have easily generated enough heat with his chakra control alone to ignite his tobacco. Soon, the wise and warm-hearted leader of the shinobi took a breath and addressed all his soldiers and children in attendance with a firm and familiar voice once all those that were summoned were now in the chamber with him.

"I have summoned you all here for a very important purpose," the old man did not smile but his voice assured his soldiers that there was no serious threat at hand, "Seeing your fellow jounin and chunin here, I can only be sure that you all realize what it is that I am about to talk about…"

Kakashi was the first of the shinobi to talk to their leader as he mused, "So soon? I thought we'd have a little more time…"

"I take it that the other lands have been notified of the coming event," asked Asuma Sarutobi, "I noticed that some of their genin have started showing up all over the village."

One other kunoichi named Kurenai that stood close to Asuma asked their leader, "When does it start?"

Sarutobi hesitated with his answer as he took another breath of smoke and took in the smell of the dense smoke and tasted the subtle flavor that was added to it that forced him to relax.

"We will begin in one week," he told his tall children.

Kakashi almost looked a little nervous as he commented, "That's a bit short-notice, sir…"

"Nonetheless, in exactly seven days from today. At the start of the month, the genin from around the world will be gathered here and tested," he informed the shinobi that stood in surprise and then anxiousness, "But only those who are able to prove themselves will be worthy to become chunin of their native and respected villages. As of next week, the Chunin Selection Exams will begin."

Several shinobi in the room swallowed and listened to their leader and took note on each detail and order that was given to them as he listed their duties. The old man informed them that extra hands would be needed to assist in the festivals that would attract the civilians. He also took note to the chunin that he would need volunteers to assist in the exams as proctors or assistants, but that all of them were required to make sure that they would be available to help and clear their social calendars should someone choose to help. But soon, Sarutobi turned to the shinobi in the front row that included one of his sons, the one with the beard named Asuma.

"Now then. We shall select several of the latest candidates. Will the jounin in charge of this year's rookie genin step forward," the three shinobi that stood closest to their leader stood closer and listened to the old man as he addressed their names, "Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma. What do you say? Are there any students on any of your teams that you would like to recommend, who are ready for the exams, despite their inexperience?"

In the back of the crowd, Iruka stood and listened to the old man and was shocked that he would ask them this so soon.

'_Why would Hokage-sama ask something of this from genin that young?_' he thought as he felt a little nervous, or rather anxious, '_It's too soon… None of them have even been shinobi for eight months..._'

The old man reminded the shinobi, "As it has been established before, a rookie shinobi that has carried out eight or more missions is eligible for the examination. Aside from that, it is the instructor's that must decide if one or all of their students are up to the task. Of course, most genin require a much longer training period before they can enter the exams; at least _twice_ the amount of recommended missions would be more appropriate."

Iruka nodded to the leader, as did most of the men and women in the room around him. The other shinobi were a little concerned that their wise elder would ever ask the newest instructors to recommend their students. But like Iruka, all of them didn't think that Kakashi, Kurenai, or Asuma would even let their students in. Iruka let his eyes wander around a little for a moment and couldn't help it when he noticed a woman with violet hair that he recognized and almost blushed when she sensed someone stare at her and looked back at him. But soon, the chunin looked back to the old man and the rookie instructors, hoping the woman he saw didn't notice him and recognize him as well.

Sarutobi cleared his throat and motioned to the masked shinobi, "First, Kakashi. You can begin."

"I lead Team 7, comprising of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno," the silver-haired man said with a clear tone, "I swear upon the name and honor of the Hatake clan, that all of them are ready to take on the Chunin Selection Exams."

Iruka blinked when he heard the decision and looked on as Kurenai stated the names of her own students.

She stated with a calm and clear voice, "I lead Team 8. Which consists of students Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame. I, Kurenai Yuhi, swear upon my family's name that they are all ready to take the Chunin Selection Exams."

Asuma smoked on his cigarette and made a small solute to his father and said in a more relaxed voice, "I instruct and lead Team 10. Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara. I swear upon the Sarutobi clan and all that I own that my students are ready to take the exams. I recommend all three of them."

The rest of the shinobi in the room were shocked and started to murmur to each other. No instructor ever recommended genin as fresh as the current rookies for the most dangerous and excruciating exam to ascend the ranks. Iruka stood motionless while the other shinobi and kunoichi around him whispered to each other and expressed obvious disapproval and confusion over the matter of the decisions of the instructors. While the shinobi made it obvious that the decision was unwise, none of them had the courage to take a stand. Iruka soon thought about Naruto; he imagined him marching into the Forest of Death and saw him vanish into the darkness, he then heard his little brother let out a shrill scream that echoed out from the woods. He then thought back to when he entered the exams and faced the horrors and terrors that haunted him and countless other chunin. He could still hear the sounds of fists slamming into flesh and blades slice through skin and bone, like the sound of war drums. The tan-skinned chunin couldn't help it as he imagined his precious little brother face those same terrors and remembered the promise he had made to Harry when he and the wizard first met back in the mindscape; back when the two of them watched the orchestra. Where the wizard would be unable to protect their little brother, the chunin would succeed.

Iruka soon marched through the crowd and called out, "Hold on for one second here!"

The older jounin turned around and stared at the chunin that interrupted their formalities, as did Sarutobi, but the old man looked more interested.

"What is it, Iruka?" the old man asked.

The chunin told him in a reasonable tone, "Forgive me, Hokage-sama, but most of the names that were mentioned were my students back in the Academy. I understand that each of them is unique and have incredible potential to become excellent shinobi. But I feel that this decision has been made too soon. Those kids still need more time and more familiarity towards the shinobi life. If the instructors let their students enter the exams this soon, and with such little experience, those kids could fail or even die."

Kakashi frowned in irritation as he stared at the chunin. He was tired of this man and didn't want him to intervene in these matters. Not to mention, he masked man could see through the chunin and deduced his true reasons for his sudden outburst. He turned to face the tan-skinned shinobi and stared him down.

"When I became a chunin," he stated as he talked down to man like he was a child out of line, "I was six years younger than Naruto is now."

The chunin was soon infuriated at the masked shinobi and stated as he took another step closer, "Naruto is nothing like you, Kakashi! What are you trying to do? Are you trying to get him killed?"

"Well, I don't see why not," the masked man shrugged and sounded like he smiled as he teased the chunin, "If he failed the exam, it could teach him a lesson. He's wanted a challenge so bad; let's see if he can last. Let's admit it, breaking him would be so much fun!"

Iruka turned livid as his hands were clenched into brown fists, while he was reminded about the events of Naruto's miserable childhood where he was almost beaten to death on several occasions, "You sick, insensitive, bastard! What the hell is the matter with-"

"It was a test, Iruka," he sighed as he stared at the man, "and it looks like I was right."

The chunin held back his frustrations towards the masked shinobi and soon calmed down while he still looked confused but still a little bit frustrated, as the other instructors stood firm with their decisions.

"The only reason you're so concerned with our decision is because this effects Naruto as well. You concerned yourself, claiming that you are speaking for the sake of all of our students, because you don't want little Naruto to get hurt. You're smothering him and it isn't doing him any good."

"But I," the chunin tried to talk.

But Kakashi boomed at him with his voice set in a condescending tone, "Stop interfering with matters that don't have anything to do with you anymore, Iruka Umino."

"Alright, Kakashi, knock it off," the kunoichi Kurenai tried to dissuade the masked shinobi and leave the chunin alone, "You said enough."

But he insisted that he should finish and stared down at the chunin, "No, Kurenai. He needs to hear this... You have to stop thinking that Naruto is still some defenseless preschool student. He's a shinobi of this village, now. He is not your student anymore. He's mine now."

Iruka stared back at Kakashi in complete contempt and even let out a low and subtle snarl. Asuma looked irritated and couldn't care less about the chunin that irritated him at the moment, while Kurenai looked a little bit more sympathetic towards the protective chunin. Sarutobi waited for the argument to deteriorate soon, but Iruka wouldn't let it end while he tried to remain calm and civil.

"Alright," he said as he calmed down but was still frustrated at the masked man, "I will admit that I am concerned for Naruto a little bit more… But I can't stand aside on this. I don't care if those kids under your care now, Kakashi! None of them are experienced enough to ensure their survival and make it out of the exam! I don't see why you won't give them more time! Those kids could get killed! People die in this competition! You and I and all of us here have been through it!"

Kakashi was about to tell him to leave with the use of some swear words that would've shocked the old man behind them, but then another, much more charismatic voice broke out from behind the chunin that forced Kakashi to listen more.

"You know, he's got a point, my eternal rival…"

Iruka turned around and looked a little bemused when a tall and muscular man broke through and stood close to him to face the silver-haired instructor. He had thick caterpillar-like eyebrows and shining black hair cut in a classic bowl. The man wore a skintight, forest-green jumpsuit, orange striped leg warmers, and the standard green Konoha flak jacket, but it was unzipped and he wore it loose so that he was comfortable. His headband was tied onto a red cloth that he wore around his waist, like a belt, and he wore normal sandals, as did most of the shinobi in the room. His outfit was ridiculous, but no one spoke out against it, since he wore underwear, otherwise his privates would have been almost visible. The man that supported Iruka soon beckoned to the masked shinobi, which soon made it obvious that the two men knew each other well.

"You're putting a lot of pressure on those kids, Kakashi," the man motioned to him with a deep and charismatic voice, "Why so impatient? I held my team back for at least a year, so that the three of them can hone their skills and mature better as teammates. If you rush them into it, none of them will last in the exams and the team will collapse in failure, due to a lack of teamwork and field experience... Let them bask in their _youth_ while it's still there," the man said with a deep voice.

Kakashi chuckled in amusement, "You're concern is touching, Gai, it is. But are you sure it's not that you know that _your_ kids don't stand a chance against _mine_?"

The man named Gai looked at the other man in surprise and then he looked frustrated at him, as did the tan-skinned chunin. When Gai was about to talk back at the masked man, he was silenced as well as all the shinobi in the room when the voice of their wise elder boomed out.

"Alright. That is enough," Sarutobi acted like an irritated father and looked to all his children one at a time, "Iruka, I understand your concern for the others. But that decision is not yours to make. That is up for the jounin instructors to decide, and all of them have made their choices…"

Iruka looked defeated and frustrated, but was silent and calmed down out of respect for his leader.

"The matter of the rookies participation is now closed," the old man ended the discussion and moved on to the other matters that concerned the shinobi and the instructors whose students would be admitted into the exams.

But before the old man went on about the other matters, Kakashi looked over at Gai and Iruka. The man that wore the weird suit was still infuriated with his rival, while Iruka looked more determined as he was still frustrated with the masked shinobi. But then the silver-haired shinobi told the two of them, "I know what I'm doing here. Trust me."

* * *

As soon as the summit was finished, all the shinobi were sorted out of the office, one man and woman at a time. The old man had the three instructors remain for a little bit more as soon as the others had left. He had to inform them of the locations and dates of the events that would concern them. But once all the information had been briefed, Kakashi was the last to leave as he waltzed down the corridor to leave. As he turned the corner, he ran into Iruka, leaning against the wall while he waited until the masked shinobi came around. The chunin still looked determined as he crossed his arms and stared at the jounin. He soon walked over to the shinobi but remained strict and restrained to some degree. It was obvious that he was still ticked that Kakashi had called him out like he did in front of all the other shinobi, embarrassed him.

"Listen here," he said with a stern voice, "I don't know what it is that you're trying to do, but if anything happens to-"

But then Kakashi interrupted the chunin and told him off again in a more confident tone, "Just leave it, Iruka. I'm sure Naruto will be fine."

Iruka was still not convinced in the slightest, while most people would have been relieved or re-ensured at that point when Kakashi used his relaxed-charm. But that trick didn't work on him. He knew all too well what it was like to be in those exams and be forced to fight to the death in order to survive, let alone become a chunin. The first portion of the exams was often the least severe, but it was the other two exams that forced the worst out of a genin. Iruka didn't want Naruto or his teammates be thrown into that, not at their age. None of them would be able to come out of the exams unscathed or unshaken. The chunin then tried to calm down some more and tried to reason with Kakashi and convince him to reconsider his decision.

He sounded a little more vulnerable but still sounded serious as he told him, "He's a kid… All of them are still kids, and you're sending them out to die, Kakashi…"

Kakashi was taken aback a little as Iruka made that last statement. He almost sounded more like a desperate parent that wanted their child safe. But soon, Kakashi shrugged the theatrics aside and looked a little bit more insulted than he should have felt.

"I find it insulting that you have such little faith in a person you're _supposed_ believe in," the shinobi told him back.

But then Iruka said with a cross voice, "Well, I find it disgraceful that you would be willing to send him out to fight a battle none of them could come back from."

"I have faith in them, Iruka…" Kakashi said in a relaxed voice, "I believe those kids have what it takes to make it through and win…"

The chunin threw his arms into the air in defeat and turned to leave and let Kakashi do whatever he wanted. He started to leave, but not before he turned his head and told him, "I will admit, I have been over-protective. And I might seem like the one at fault for trying to stop Naruto from entering the exams. But I'm like this for a reason, Kakashi… He's all I have left of the life I lost…"

The chunin then looked dead serious as he shot one more look at the older shinobi.

"But since you're going to go through with this decision," he pointed at the silver-haired man and stated, "Whatever happens to those kids out there, is on you…"

With that said, the chunin walked out to leave Kakashi to absorb what he told him while he thought about the news about the exams with his students.

* * *

When the sun rose the following morning, the streets were flooded with life as the civilians and shinobi moved about with their lives. Meanwhile, Naruto and his teammates waited for their sensei to arrive and show them to their next mission. Kakashi took his time as he did when the team was first formed, leaving his students irritated or in some cases tired. Naruto was hunched over the rail of the wooden bridge while he tried his best to remain awake and wait for their sensei to arrive. But the sound of the reservoir made him feel even more tired as he started to lose focus and fall back asleep.

'_**This is an insult... If he wanted you kids to wake up so early, then why doesn't he do the same and show up like a professional? One or two times it's funny, yes, but this is ridiculous now… The man is over four hours late.**_'

'_Could you keep quiet for a couple minutes? I wanna see if I can sleep a little bit…_'

_**'Look at this. **__**I told you to go to bed sooner, Naruto. You were up all night for a stupid little comic book. You could have read it some other time. Like, later after this mission, or later this weekend where there's time to read and waste time.**_'

'_But it was Knightfall Part Two! I had to see it to the end!_'

With that little argument won, Naruto relaxed and let his head rest over his hands while he listened to the water below him and slip into dreams about more comic books, heroes, and Quidditch. But soon, his dreams were interrupted when his female teammate screamed out at random that caused Naruto to fall down and hit his head on the rail.

"RAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"What! What's happening?" the blonde shinobi soon stood on his feet and realized it was his teammate, "What was that about?"

The kunoichi shouted, "Why? Why? Why? Why doesn't Kakashi-sensei ever show up on time for once? Jeez!"

Naruto looked at her with a more tired look and tried to be a supportive teammate, "I agree that it sucks, Sakura-chan, but I was aslee-"

"He makes us wait for hours like this all the time," she ranted, "I was in a such a wicked rush to leave home, I didn't even have enough time to for a little makeup for once! Just a little bit of blush! Is that too much to ask?"

The blonde shinobi decided to go along with her rant this time and said while he motioned to his moistened armpits, "While we're on the same topic, I had to rush here so fast, that I forgot to put on deodorant. I can feel the wetness settling in right now."

"Ewww…" his female teammate commented as she tried to slide toward her other teammate.

Naruto nodded his head with more enthusiasm, "I know, right? It's gross!"

While their rants continued, their more silent teammate looked irritated with both his teammates as each of them complained a little bit more about their teammate's constant tardiness, which was soon ended when Naruto told Sakura that he believed that their teacher told the truth about the time he said he saved a bunch of children from a fire. She then hit him in the head when he likened Kakashi to Batman. This soon led to Naruto to whine and tell Sakura to cut it out and insisted his opinion about their mentor. This drove the kunoichi to call her teammate an idiot, meanwhile, Sasuke looked irritated while he was lost in his thoughts.

'_It's the first thing I have to deal with in the morning, and already I want to hurt them both so bad…_'

* * *

But soon, about fifteen minutes later, Kakashi made his eventual arrival and smiled down at his students with a small wave and remembered the forms he had hidden in his weapons pouch. He couldn't imagine how Sakura or Sasuke would react to the news, but he had an idea what his enthusiastic blonde student would do, but that's what he was a little bit afraid of. The masked shinobi was thankful that the wound on his chest was sewed and sealed. Kakashi then looked down at his students as he called down to him.

"Good morning, kids" he called out, "So sorry that I'm late. I'm afraid I was lost on the road of life."

Sakura screamed back at her sensei, which caused Naruto to recoil, "YOU LIAR!"

Once he had recovered, Naruto watched as his teacher vanished out of thin air and then reappeared in front of them with his incredible speed. Once he watched him land, the blonde child smirked at his sensei and crossed his arms while his smile stretched across his face; "You used that excuse last week, Kakashi-sensei."

"Well," the shinobi shrugged, "I like to use it."

"Ha! You do not," the preteen then pointed at his sensei and stated, "You're running out of excuses, sensei!"

Kakashi decided to act a little childish for once as he placed his hand over his heart, as if he had been shot, "No! You've discovered my only weakness! _Its limited excuses!_"

Naruto laughed a little bit as his sensei stood straight again and cut right to the chase, and dove into a lecture-like mode.

"Well, I know that this is a little bit out of the blue, but I've decided to recommend you guys to enter in the Chunin Selection Exams. Here are the application forms."

Kakashi then withdrew the three small parchment forms he had written out last night and offered them to his students.

"What?" the blonde student in the middle tilted his head.

Sakura looked at her sensei and asked, "Application forms?"

"You're repeating me again, Sakura," their mentor teased, "This entire examination is voluntary. If you don't want to compete with the other shinobi and become a chunin, then you don't have to. You can take it again next year."

The students remained frozen in silence but it was soon broken when Naruto raised his hand in a flash as if he were in a classroom. His invisible older brother watched and smiled as his little brother reminded him of his friend Hermione for a moment and then he watched as he anticipated Naruto's next move once Kakashi motioned to his blonde student.

Kakashi asked his student, "Yes, Naruto?"

"Would you hate it if I gave you a hug, sensei?" he asked.

The masked shinobi froze but it was too late, "Wait! Naruto-"

"Too late! You're getting one!" he shouted.

Naruto cried out as he launched at Kakashi and embraced him with all his strength. Kakashi felt the air breeze out from his lungs and the pressure of Naruto's arms against his ribs and chest and almost overwhelmed him. The masked shinobi was almost thrown off balance but was soon lifted into the air almost an entire foot above the sidewalk. Kakashi couldn't breath as the last of the air inside of him was rushed out. All the while, his precious little student rubbed his cheek into his teacher's chest while his teammates were shocked at his unexpected feat of raw strength. Kakashi had to be at least triple his own student's weight.

Naruto cheered out with cute little roses in his cheeks, "Oh, Kakashi-sensei! I LOVE YOU!"

The shinobi teacher tried to talk but all he was able to do was choke out as his face started to turn a subtle shade of red, "Naruto-I-can't-breath!"

Soon, the blonde shinobi heard him and released the embrace so that his mentor could breath. Kakashi took several breaths and coughed once or twice as he felt his feet touch the floor. Naruto rubbed the back of his head and sweatdropped as he realized what he had done as his teacher tried to recover.

"Gomenasai, sensei," he laughed, "You know me."

Kakashi shook his head as he couldn't believe his student's strength and checked his torso for broken bones and then instructed his students, "Well then, aside from Naruto's little outburst, whoever wants to take the exams; fill out these applications and come to Room 301 at the Ninja Academy. Be there at three o'clock in the afternoon in one week from now. Got it?"

Naruto and his teammates nodded to their instructor and soon Kakashi dismissed his students and vanished out of thin air. He mentioned that their missions were cancelled and that he had to meet with an old friend of his that had arrived in town.

* * *

{{_Enter Your Name by Patrick Doyle_}}

Naruto walked back home with a smile on his face while he examined the form in his hands, written in red and black ink and branded with the official seal emblazoned with the leaf that represented Konohagakure no Sato. The blonde shinobi couldn't wait to be home and write down all his information and be entered into the tournament he had heard about all his life, though he never once watched other shinobi battle whenever the exams were hosted in the village.

'_Chunin Exams, huh? It sounds like fun! I can't wait for next week!_'

'_**Sure it sounds like fun now. But all that will last until someone is killed. Your life will be on the line, Naruto.**_'

'_What?_'

'_**The Chunin Selection Exams are an examination to see what genin are most worthy and responsible to advance to the chunin-level. That means that there will be a lot of danger and competition to the end of the tournament. The whole thing sounds very similar to the Triwizard Tournament. Only it's more dangerous and there's no Yule Ball… Shinobi can die in these events, Naruto. These exams are designed to test you to see if you can handle the responsibilities that a chunin must take on. This is a serious competition. And most shinobi from other villages are willing to kill in order to win.**_'

'_Alright then… You think I should spend the next couple days brushing up on the skills I need to hold out and win?_'

'_**Yes. But first, we are going to need to some new clothes. The exam might test you on stealth; so let's get you some newer, more appropriate garments for survival exercises. Then we will brush up on some ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu resistance, and even some spell casting practice.**_'

Naruto clenched his fists in excitement as he ran down the street and found the closest shinobi clothing store he could find, which was around the corner. It was a modest store that he hadn't noticed until now.

_Suzuki's Weapon's and Clothing for All Occasions and Purposes_

The blonde-haired shinobi looked into the windows and saw manikins wearing common shinobi wear that included the basic chunin and jounin uniforms along with ANBU armor that was on sale at a reasonable price. There were also blades and countless varieties of tools and weapons that included swords, knives, wooden and steel staffs, kunai, and countless shuriken. Naruto stared at a set of dual swords and his curious mind forced him inside. The blonde shinobi walked in, toned the bell when the door closed behind him and was surprised as it would seem that the store was much larger on the inside than it was on the outside. There was so much room to move around and there were over two more levels above Naruto and twin sets of wooden stairs that led to the levels mentioned. One side of the store on the first level was dedicated to clothes and fashion while the other side was dedicated to blades, shuriken, swords, kunai, and armor. There were countless rows flooded with small white boxes filled with shuriken and swords where the customers could hold them and test them a little bit. There were curved blades and blank scrolls that stocked one shelve and another but with miscellaneous items, such as nun-chucks and iron balls with chains. Whatever blade or tool Naruto could think of, it was there in the store on a shelve around him, and to think there were loads more to see on the other levels above him. On the other side of the store, there were countless uniforms to choose from, made of all the colors that a shinobi could use to blend in to their surroundings; from red to black and gold to silver. There was no color that wasn't included in the endless selection as Naruto stared out in wonder and excitement. It was all he would ever need in his shinobi career and so much more.

"Oh man…" he smiled, "It's like Honeydukes, but with swords… I'm in heaven…"

Naruto looked around for a clerk to aid him, but no one was around. He looked over the desk and shrugged while he examined the collection of swords and curved blades. He noticed one kunai looked a lot like the same blade Zabuza had used on Kakashi to draw his blood. It was locked inside a small scabbard, so Naruto decided to leave it be as he checked the reasonable prices on the boxes that contained kunai and shuriken. The blonde smiled, as he remained oblivious to the kunoichi that had entered the store from the back room. She remained hidden when Naruto tucked the boxes where he found them and looked over to the clothes-section and examined some jackets and survival cloaks.

The kunoichi followed him and soon appeared around him and smiled as she was announced at last, "You look like someone that's in need of some new clothes."

Naruto turned around and saw the kunoichi that was no older than he was. She had brown eyes and long brown hair that was gathered in a Chinese chignon. She wore a pink sleeveless blouse and dark green pants with a weapon's holster tied around her left and right thighs. She was rather beautiful for her earlier teens, in a more simplified manner, like she was aware of her attractiveness, but never flaunted it around. She was a modest marvel of a modern kunoichi.

Naruto looked at her and asked, "Huh?"

"Your clothes. You came here to get some replacements, right?" she asked examined Naruto's hideous attire, "Those aren't the best clothes for a shinobi to wear, man."

The blonde shinobi rubbed the back of his head and said, "Yeah… I need something a little bit more… practical to wear for a while. See, I'm going to be entering the Chunin Exams this week and I need to get some clothes that will better suit me for the tests. Do you have anything that can help me?"

"Sure! We have loads to choose from," she then introduced herself, "Oh, excuse me, I'm Tenten Suzuki. Just call me Tenten, everybody does. Mom and dad run this store and I sometimes work here when I'm not on missions or with Gai-sensei and the rest of the old team."

"I'm Naruto Ignotus Uzumaki. You can call me Naruto. It's a pleasure," the blonde smiled as she nodded to her.

Tenten looked at him with a curious look, "Wait a minute… You… Naruto... I've… I've seen you once… Back at school… Naruto Uzumaki... You were the one that did all those tricks on Daikoku-sensei! I remember it now! You sandwiched his desk chair that one time! That was hilarious!"

"Yeah, that was me," the blonde smiled and confirmed, "I would have felt remorseful about it, but Daikoku-sensei was a maniacal moron."

Tenten smiled as well and nodded, "Yeah, I remember that bastard. Man, he was such an awful teacher... A total ass."

"You won't believe this, but I ran into him last week. The bastard was about to assault me for all those tricks I did to him in school. Could have knocked me in the face."

Tenten looked intrigued, "You're kidding! What did you do?"

"I kicked him in the nuts and ran," he answered her.

The warm kunoichi smiled and said, "You didn't."

"Yeah, I did. It was last week. You should have seen his face," he told her, "He screamed like his nuts were on fire!"

"Oh, I wish I were there to see it," she smiled some more as she told him, "I bet I was on mission at the time or out on the fields. Gai-sensei slaves us sometimes."

Naruto nodded, "Heh! I wish I had the old camera at the time. It could've made headlines," the blonde preteen then he turned his attention back to the clothes, "Yeah, so… um… about these clothes. Well, I don't have a sense of fashion whatsoever. You think you could assist me here, since I don't know much about this stuff?"

"Sure!" she answered.

* * *

Tenten showed Naruto around the store and showed him loads of different clothes that he could wear that were about his size. She tried to suggest darker fabrics but advised him not to wear solid black or obsidian since it would stand out when it wasn't dark out. The blonde shinobi was tossed more and more clothes and Tenten had him try them on and walk around a little bit, which made him feel a little bit foolish while she determined if it suited him. Once all the standard clothes were tested and thrown out, she asked Naruto what colors he liked, to which he answered with scarlet, gold, black, and blue. Tenten stared at him for a minute and circled around him as she determined his choices and visualized him with those colors. Soon, she faced the blonde shinobi and told him what she thought.

"Gold is a color that reflects light too much for stealth missions. Red is not a bad color choice. We can work with some dark red and other dark colors, but I'll have to check to see if we have those two colors available with a functional outfit for missions. I think all we have at the moment are normal clothes, like the ones for civilians. I'll also have to make sure the black isn't too bold as I said earlier; solid black is one of the worst colors to wear if the mission is not in the dark. Hold on here for a moment, I'll check in the back, Naruto."

The blonde shinobi nodded and smiled, "Ok. I'll stick around here then."

Once the kunoichi had vanished somewhere on the second level for the clothes, Naruto focused on his thoughts and communicated with his older brother while he waited.

'_This has taken more time than I intended, Nii-san._'

'_**If you think this is bad, try going to Madam Malkin's for a few minutes. You'll be there for at least three hours…**_'

Naruto was stuck there for almost an hour and Tenten had created a stack of clothes that didn't meet her standards. She sat back in a chair in exhaustion and tried to think of other combinations while Naruto removed the latest fashion failure and started to look at other clothes that the mannequins wore. While the blonde shinobi waited for the older kunoichi to make another decision. Naruto walked around a little bit and observed the dummies for clothes that he hadn't had the chance to wear until he found one that wore a new outfit that he liked. The cloned shinobi looked down at his old tracksuit and then the outfit he found and then smiled. Naruto called over to Tenten and wanted to know what she thought about the survival uniform he discovered.

"Tenten," he asked, "What about this one?"

The kunoichi tossed aside some other clothes and walked over to her new friend and looked at the uniform he stared at with excitement on his face. Tenten looked over the outfit and then looked over at Naruto over and over again. She then started to smile as she imagined what he would look like with it on.

"Well," she told him, "This looks like a find here."

Naruto looked over at her and then the uniform and asked her, "Is it new?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "We received these last month. I think this is the last one we have available. We should restock on them soon."

Tenten reached out and examined the articles and found the size and then she beamed as she removed it from the mannequin and almost shook with excitement while Naruto stared at her and tried to smile at her somewhat awkward behavior.

"Good news," she told him, "You're the same size as this one!"

Naruto smiled at her and said, "Excellent!"

"I think this will work fine," she told him and them motioned for him to switch clothes, "Let's see it in action."

* * *

A few minutes later, Naruto came out of the changing room for the millionth time and showed his new clothes to Tenten. She walked over to him and circled him once more as she studied at the details of his outfit. She nodded and smiled as she circled him for the tenth time while she was silent and then she started to shake like she did earlier.

She told him, "It looks fantastic!"

"You think so?" he asked as he beamed to her.

Tenten nodded and then told him, "You should take it, Naruto. It looks awesome!"

"I'll take it then!" he announced as he started to remove the articles.

Naruto went back into the changing room and changed back into his normal tracksuit and headband while Tenten took the new clothes and boxed them behind the counter. While Naruto was at it, he took some boxes of new shuriken and kunai and waited as she counted the cash he had with him and returned his change. Once he was done and had his new blades with him, Naruto wished Tenten farewell while she offered him some extra facts about his new clothes and what he should do if the shirt or coat were ever stained with mud or blood.

"The coat will be useful on missions, since it's fire-resistant. It's made of the same materials as the famous coat Minato Namikaze wore once he became the Yondaime. Make sure to not use bleach on it in the wash or else the colors will fade out."

The blonde shinobi nodded and took the boxes, "Alright. Thanks a lot, Tenten."

"Oh! Naruto," she stopped him, as he was about to leave, "Good luck in the Chunin Exams. You might see me at the Ninja Academy next week."

He smiled at her and said, "Yeah, I'll see you there then. Thanks so much for the clothes, Tenten."

"Later," said waved as he walked and tolled the bell again, "Good luck!"

* * *

Later next week at around dawn, massive crowds of genin students from all over the world arrived in the village as the sun beat down against their necks. The main roads were crowded with foreign shinobi from all the five main shinobi countries. Headbands with various marks embedded on them shined while other rookies intimidated the few civilians that were out as the masses marched on to where the first exam was to be held. Shinobi and kunoichi from Suna and Kiri scared the life out of some unfortunate civilians that stared at their tough faces or their razor-sharp teeth. At the same time, other rookies from the other villages acted like stone soldiers and marched on towards the Ninja Academy and focused on their exams. There were other shinobi from Suna that had exited from their hotels and also marched with the other shinobi from Suna and entered the old school.

At the same time, at the reservoir where Kakashi's team met for missions, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno waited as their third teammate arrived without their notice. Naruto used his chakra to soar across from a rooftop and landed on the same arch that Kakashi would land on when he welcomed his students and told them his latest excuse. Naruto smirked down at his teammates as neither of them noticed he had arrived and then he announced himself when Sasuke looked over his shoulder.

{{_Draco's Troubles by Patrick Doyle_}}

"Good morning, fellow teammates," called down to them.

Sasuke and Sakura both looked over at the arch to see the sun and a dark figure hunched on the arch. Their teammate Naruto then fell from the arch and landed on his feet in front of them. When Sasuke and Sakura's visions were restored, both of them were shocked to see their teammate dressed in an all-new survival outfit; Naruto now wore a black crew-neck t-shirt, olive-colored cargo pants with cuffed ankles and pockets all over, a wide utilities belt with a metal buckle. He also wore a double-lined hoodie autumn coat with multiple features, which made him feel warm in cold conditions and cool in warm conditions. The coat he wore also had a nice color-design to it as it had a reasonable black-shade base to it with scarlet stripes that ran down his arms, across his shoulders, and along the back and spine. On the back, Naruto had outlined a lion of his Hogwarts house on the back of the coat but made sure it wasn't too obvious so he wouldn't attract unwanted attention from other shinobi or kunoichi should there be an exam that tested him on survival skills and stealth.

Overall, Naruto looked like a modern version of what a rookie shinobi should look like as he wore his kunai holsters and headband with his reasonable but still fashionable clothes. Sasuke was a little bit bothered that Naruto had outshined him with his new stealth clothes, since he still wore his cerulean-blue shirt with the Uchiha clan mark on the back and the other white clothes. It was too late for Sasuke to look for better clothes at home, so he stood there and stared at Naruto's apparel and tried to look unmoved towards his new outfit. Sakura, on the other hand, was almost in shock.

"Well, that outfit is… different, dobe," the Uchiha heir commented.

Sakura smiled at her teammate and told him, "Well that's… a little bit out of character to wear that, Naruto."

"Is that bad, Sakura-chan?" the blonde shinobi asked as he looked down at his own shirt.

She shook her head and was honest when she said, "No… Not at all… It looks nice…"

Naruto smiled and stood close to his crush for a while. While the trio made their plans to head to the Ninja Academy and turn in their filled out applications, Sasuke continued to look over at Sakura over and over again. She seemed nervous and even listened to Naruto as he told her to make sure she reminded them where the three of them had to turn in their individual forms. The Uchiha heir stared at the kunoichi even while the three of them walked down to their old school for the first time in months.

* * *

When the three of them arrived at the school with all the other shinobi and kunoichi, the trio made it to the entrance hall. The team walked through the crowds of the other genin and tried to reach the doors that lead to the staircase. Naruto looked around and took in the various faces of the different shinobi from all over the world. All of them had their own unique clothes, headbands, hair-styles, weapons, and other unique traits and features that made them all so curious to look at, like colorful candies in a store. Naruto almost felt like he was in the middle of an anime convention.

Naruto looked around and then Harry called out to him when he saw two shinobi and one kunoichi the two of them were familiar with.

'_**Look over there, Naruto. It's those three genin from Suna that gave you and Konohamaru all that trouble.**_'

The blonde shinobi followed his teammates but still looked around to see Kankuro and his siblings walk over to some other Suna shinobi. Naruto furrowed his brow a little bit at Kankuro when he scared some other Konoha shinobi and assumed he was about to do the same antics he tried to use on Konohamaru. The blonde wizard then smirked at the shinobi while he shook his wand hidden inside his sleeve and made a smooth wave towards Kankuro that went unnoticed as he used a certain charm he had mastered when he was little.

Naruto murmured under his breath, "_Diffindo!_"

{{_Supermassive Black Hole by Muse (subtle in the background)_}}

The effects of the Severing Charm were effective as Kankuro's trousers were torn at the waist and fell to the floor without a sound and without Kankuro to notice as his boxers were shown to all the shinobi and kunoichi around him in the entrance hall. He wore blue boxers with cartoon ducks decorated all over them, which was odd, since ducks were not a normal animal native to the lands around Suna. It took several teens around them to notice that his black trousers had fallen and soon the first laughs were heard across the hall and Kankuro still did not notice.

But soon, as the laughs started to become more loud and more people looked over at the oblivious shinobi, did he feel a little bit weird and he asked his teammate, "Did it get cold in here all the sudden?"

His teammate and sister Temari soon looked over at her brother and looked down to see his unmentionables. She soon elbowed him and then pointed down at his underwear while she also laughed with the crowd and could have cried while her other brother stared and was not able to show emotion towards the otherwise hilarious situation. Kankuro looked down, as he wondered what all the shinobi around him laughed about and then blanched white when he realized that his trousers were down at his ankles and covered his shoes.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH," the teen screamed as he reached down and held his trousers to his waist as fast as he could to cover what all the men and women around him had seen, "WHO THE HELL DID THIS?"

Kankuro looked around the room for the one that had torn his trousers as he could tell from the clean cut that it must have been intentional. Naruto, with a shameless attitude, cleared his throat and branded a shuriken from his weapons pouch as he waved over and smirked at Kankuro while he followed his teammates towards the stairs. Kankuro snarled at the blonde troublemaker and could have bolted towards him, had his trousers not fallen down to his ankles one more time when he was about to make a break for it. He reached back down and held them to his waist and tried to hide his boxers again but still roared over all the laughs and watched as Naruto scaled the stairs with his teammates.

He roared through his teeth over all the voices, "THAT-KID-IS-DEAD!"

* * *

As the trio climbed the stairs towards the third floor, all of them noticed that a lot of shinobi surrounded a classroom that was numbered as Room 301. Naruto and his teammates investigated the scene and noticed two normal shinobi that must have been a little bit older than all three of them that blocked off the other genin outside the classroom. One of them had slammed a shinobi that wore a green jumpsuit, orange legwarmers, and had a black bowl haircut. But then Naruto noticed the kunoichi beside him and realized it was Tenten from earlier in the week, which meant the two of them were teammates. There was another male teen that stood close to Tenten and her teammate that had long and smooth brown hair that reached down to the middle of his back but was tied close to the end. He had fair skin, pupil-less lavender colored irises, and he wore a khaki shirt and dark-brown shorts. He also had bandages that were tied around his right arm and left leg, and had a black-clothed headband that he wore tight with two straps that framed his handsome statue-like face.

One of the teens that blocked the classroom asked the team with a cruel voice, "You kiddies want to take the Chunin Exams with that kind of strength?"

"You little brats should just quit while you still can," the teen's friend laughed with him.

Then the first one laughed, "These three are total brats."

Tenten tended to her wounded teammate while she tried to beg to their aggressors in a voice that sounded much weaker than the one Naruto heard when he talked to her last time when he was in the store.

"Please, let us inside," she beckoned to them.

She stood against the two-shinobi teens, but was smacked in the face so hard that she fell and hit the floor. The one that had hit Tenten smirked down at her weakness and almost kicked her a little bit while the two of them smiled down at her and the other students in the crowd looked alarmed and started to itch back towards the exits.

"Listen here, kiddies; we're doing a untold kindness here," the first teen told them, "The Chunin Exams are more difficult than you can possibly imagine."

The second guard continued for his partner, "We've seen countless bold brats enter and then come out from these exams damaged beyond repair."

"A chunin is a commander of a team. You are weighed with the responsibilities of other people when you're a chunin," the first one said and then let his friend banter down to the students some more.

The second shinobi told them to warn them, "You kids are not up to this exam. Get out while you still can, if you don't want to live with regret and a lost limb."

Naruto looked back at the stairwell and noticed that all the students in the hall outside the classroom were still on the second floor. He then noticed as one of two more teams from the entrance hall downstairs escalated towards the next floor. Naruto looked dumbfounded as he looked back to the classroom and then to the other students all around him.

'_Why are all these other genin still down here for? The exam is supposed to be upstairs._'

'_**Look at the room number, Naruto. Do you notice something strange about it?**_'

The blonde preteen noticed the room number and observed the letters and numbers. When he stared at it for a while, he realized that the number wavered. The numbers wavered and flickered with life for a moment and then returned to normal, but Naruto had noticed the inconsistencies.

'_It's a genjutsu!_'

'_**Fantastic! You three should head to the real room and leave these other rookies behind.**_'

'_What for, Nii-san?_'

'_**I know it's a little cruel. But y**__**ou'll have an easier time in the exams with less shinobi to fight. It would be a wise move and become a chunin a whole lot sooner.**_'

Naruto nodded and was about to whisper to his teammates the idea and leave the others behind. But then Sasuke marched towards the door with his usual smirk. Sakura followed and Naruto tried to follow them both and tell them to move back towards the stairs, but Sasuke marched on and started to talk to the two older shinobi and made a decision that made him look even more foolish than he did when he acted like an ass in front of Gaara and Kankuro earlier in the week. Naruto stared at his male teammate the entire time and smacked his own face when he tried to over-compensate for his earlier misbehaviors.

"This isn't even the right room. You morons used a genjutsu to trick other genin from entering the correct exam room," he then stated to all the other shinobi and kunoichi, "This is Room 201. Not Room 301."

One of the older shinobi looked shocked, "You saw through it?"

"You noticed it first, right Sakura?" the Uchiha heir smirked at his female teammate.

She looked to him and stared at him like a doll and asked, "What?"

"Your skills in seeing through genjutsu are more affective than mine," he told her at random and even winked at her, "Your observation skills are the best in our team."

Sakura blushed until her whole face was flooded with warmth. Naruto observed Sasuke's face, so he and his older brother deduced that Sasuke decided to show off and then turn it around so that Sakura could have a boost in moral, since it looked like she had her doubts about the exam. At first it would seem selfless for him to do for once, but in truth, Sasuke wanted to ensure that she wouldn't bail out on them. It worked as she stood at his side and then smirked at the older shinobi and then showed off to the other teens around them that were tricked with the illusion. All the while, Naruto scowled at Sasuke and wanted to bash his head in with the blunt end of a kunai, or set his smooth black hair on fire as he almost itched for his wand.

"Of course Sasuke-kun! I noticed it at once! We're still on the second floor!"

Naruto moaned in silence as soon as the illusion was reversed and the classroom was revealed to be an old broom closet. A lot of the other students soon moaned and turned back towards the stairs to enter the real classroom above them. The blonde shinobi stood where he was, as Sasuke had killed whatever chance there was to make the exam a little bit easier for them. The blonde shinobi and his invisible dark-haired companion stared down at the back of Sasuke's head as the two of them wanted to hurt him so bad, it almost hurt them both to not to hit him for his idiotic and self-centered actions.

The blonde shinobi seethed at his rival, '_I hope that Sasuke gets kicked in the head for that…_'

Less than one moment later, one of the two shinobi that blocked the fake classroom made a sudden move to attack Sasuke with an incredible kick to his face. Sakura stood there and screamed, while Naruto beamed and waited for his teammate and rival to be thrown into the wall from the sudden but deserved attack.

'_Look! Dreams do come true!_'

But Sasuke reacted in a flash and was bout to kick at the unknown shinobi, but then the teen with the weird haircut ended the fight that was about to start. The unnamed teen that was Tenten's teammate moved with such incredible speed and showed remarkable strength when he blocked both of their kicks at the same time with both his arms. Naruto was a little bit shocked, as were most of the witnesses when moments earlier, he had been beaten to the floor with Tenten. The unknown teen looked fierce as he held both their legs and then released them. The unnamed roadblock shinobi fell to the floor while Sasuke stood back and marveled at the genin's strength, as did Sakura and Naruto. All the genin noticed as a visible heat radiated from the teen's arms, like his chakra simmered out of his skin and clothes.

Sasuke stared at him and thought, '_He was able to block me… That can't be… No one as lame as he looks can amount to me…_'

The teen sighed in relief that he prevented what could have been a violent fight and dusted off all of the dirt on his hands and huffed. Harry looked surprised as he saw the bruises on the teen's face start to vanish as if the wounds and bruises were absorbed into his skin. Naruto looked over at the two unnamed Konoha genin and then his head started to hurt a little bit. He then had a small flashback to when he was a toddler in the times before he discovered he was a wizard and could remember these two exact same shinobi. He had seen them both multiple times back when he used to live with the Sarutobi clan and a little after when he was forced to move out. These two were some of the better nannies he had back when he started to live on his own. He could remember these two were not full-time nannies, but were still kind to him. But those two shinobi should have been a whole lot older now. When Naruto last remembered them, the two of them looked about as old as both of them looked now. Naruto returned to the real world and then he remembered their names.

"Izumo and Kotetsu?" he asked as he started to remember them and the two shinobi stared at him at the mention of their real names, "You both work for the Sandaime Hokage… What are you two doing disguised as younger versions of yourselves?"

As soon as Naruto told the other students who the two of them were, both shinobi ran towards the closest exits. It would seem that the roadblock to the fake classroom was a small test for students that wanted to take the exams to see which rookies were not able to make the cut and become chunin. Naruto and his teammate as well as the other students remained in the hall as their brows were raised at the two shinobi that fled the scene. But some of the students, the ones that knew Naruto, were a little bit more shocked that Naruto knew those two shinobi. But to be honest, Naruto was a little bit shocked that he knew them too.

The blonde shinobi chuckled a little bit as more and more memories came back to him, "I remember them both now! Both of them were a laugh back then when I was little! Oh! I think it was those two that first introduced me to pranks! Oh, Izumo and Kotetsu… How could I forget them?"

Once the two revealed chunin had fled the scene and the dust had settled, Tenten and her other teammates cornered their third teammate with cross faces.

"You idiot, Lee," she scolded her teammate, "It was your idea to act like we were weak just so we could make a false first impression to make our opponents underestimate us!"

The other teammate, the one with the statue-like face stared down at his teammate but did not talk. At the same time, Naruto overheard them and walked over to Tenten once he had realized their idea to cause their future enemies to underestimate them. A method he had used for the better half of a decade.

The blonde shinobi walked over to Tenten and said, "That was a clever idea! Shame that it backfired. Feel free to shout at Sasuke over there, since he's the one that caused it to backfire."

The teammate with the stoic face looked over at Naruto and stared at him with a look that resemble hatred or irritation. He seemed to know him or rather he remembered him, while the blonde shinobi was oblivious to his looks. Meanwhile Tenten turned to see the blonde rookie she had assisted earlier in the week and smiled at him.

She waved to him, "Oh, hello, Naruto! You made it to the exams then?"

"Yeah," he smiled at her, "I feel a lot better about these tests with these new clothes on. So these two must be those teammates mentioned last week then?"

The kunoichi nodded and introduced her teammate to her new friend, "Yeah, this over here is Neji Hyuga. He was the best rookie that graduated from our class a while back. Over here is Rock Lee, he's obsessed with martial arts but he has a lot of talent with hand-to-hand combat. I swear, he'll die in battle if these exams don't kill us in the end."

Naruto smiled and moved over to Lee to shake his hand, while he studied his clothes and hair and likened him to almost all the actors he had ever seen in all martial arts films he had ever watched.

"Hello then, Lee. It's a pleasure," he smiled as he reached out his hand, "You wouldn't happen to watch a lot of Bruce Lee movies?"

Lee took his hand and almost crushed it without the intention and talked to him with a lot of enthusiasm in his voice, "It is also pleasure to meet you too, Naruto-kun! Yes, I do watch a lot of Bruce Lee movies! Yosh! They're awesome!"

Naruto smiled and nodded and then moved over to talk to Neji. But the teen did not move or even utter one word to the blonde shinobi. Instead, he decided to stare at him like he was vermin. It wasn't the same hatred he felt from the vindictive citizens of the village. His obvious resentment towards Naruto felt different, like he hated him for another reason he was still oblivious towards. Naruto felt a little bit awkward while the teen stared down at him but he felt like he had seen him once or someone else that looked similar to him. But he couldn't remember even one face that came to mind

Tenten reassured her new friend, "Please excuse him. He's not the friendliest man in the world."

Sasuke and Sakura walked over to Naruto but soon shoved him back to confront Tenten and Lee. The blonde shinobi scowled at both his teammates for once, as both of them were rude to shove him back for whatever reasons. Lee looked over at Sakura and started to blush while he observed her. He feel for her almost as soon as Naruto did when he was little and marched over to her to talk to her.

"Hello there! The name is Rock Lee," he introduced and then asked her, "You're Sakura, right?"

The kunoichi nodded to him and looked at the older teen like he was a venomous insect. Soon, Lee nodded and smiled at the kunoichi and gave her a thumbs-up. His white teeth shined and then he winked at her and raised his rather large eyebrows while he also tried to flex all his visible muscles at her and attract her attention as much as he could.

"Would you like to go on a date with me Sakura-chan? I WILL PROTECT YOU WITH ALL MY HEART AND SOUL!"

Sakura stared at the teen and looked like she must have seen a ghost or had her soul sucked out from her mouth as her skin turned white and she shivered close to Sasuke as much as she could. She then answered Lee with a voice that sounded cold and almost lifeless.

"Never… In… Your… Life…" she answered.

Lee looked crestfallen and deflated his over-flexed muscles. He felt like a thunderstorm cloud hovered over his head and rained down on him while he floated back towards Tenten. At the same time, the teen named Neji walked over to Sasuke with a new look on his face. He looked interested with the dark-haired teen and wanted to learn more about him. His voice was calm and collected, but sounded reserved like he had been raised in a house that must have had a lot of wealth or sanitation.

He asked the black-haired teen, "Excuse me? What is your name?"

"You have to tell me your name first," stated Sasuke as he was as rude as ever, "You must have been taught some manners."

Naruto looked at Sasuke and wanted to hit him for his absurd behavior, his attitude, and his blatant moronic choices when he decided to create more enemies to face later in the exams should the students be forced to fight each other. It was obvious that Sasuke's massive ego had suffered some blows between the incident in the Land of Waves and the confrontation with Gaara and his older brother, but it was no excuse to act like a total moron and be so rude and selfish like he was now. It was ridiculous and Naruto had to have a word with him as well as Sakura as soon as the three of them were alone.

Neji then asked the Uchiha heir, "You mind telling me how old you are?"

"Piss off, loser," he answered back.

The older teen almost snarled at the Uchiha and then returned to his teammates. Soon, Sakura told Naruto and Sasuke to follow her and turn in their applications form on time and walk to the real exam room. Naruto waved Tenten and Lee farewell and wished them luck on their tests, which earned a smile from Lee and another wave from Tenten. Once the team was too far for them to hear, Neji stared at the Uchiha and then looked over at the blonde rookie as the trio headed towards the stairs. The older teen observed his clothes and noticed the faint but obvious lion he had added to the back. He crossed his arms and continued to stare at the two fellow students he had met.

"You sold him those clothes, Tenten?" he asked his female teammate.

She nodded and smiled, "Yeah. He's nice and a little bit cute. I liked his accent. With all that blonde hair and those faint whisker marks on his face, he almost looks like a lion. Like the one he stitched into that coat. I like it."

"If I didn't know better, it almost sounds like you have a crush on him, Tenten," said her other teammate Lee.

Tenten flushed insisted, "I do not! That Sasuke fellow was a hot fellow too… But he wasn't nice like Naruto… But with all those features and those clothes, he does look a lot like a lion…"

"He does have a taste for that animal…" the older teen then added and insisted, "He looks to me like another idiot… He won't win in these exams… Fate will not favor him..."

* * *

{{_Rita Skeeter by Patrick Doyle_}}

Team 7 was soon lost inside their old school as none of them had been around and couldn't remember where the offices were located to turn in their forms. The three of them soon traveled around the entire school several times and had to check all the offices until a new teacher named Hikaru Furi told them that the office the three of them needed was located close to the western side entrance hall. While the team walked over to the other end of the school, Naruto stared at his male teammate with a cross face and was determined to talk to his teammates about their obscene behaviors, even if he had to shout over both of them. It was when the trio had arrived at the western entrance hall that Naruto decided to talk to his teammates, but started with a statement he had wanted to make back when the Uchiha had increased the number of shinobi that made discovered the true classroom.

"Sasuke Uchiha. You are the most insolent inconceivable wanker in existence," he started loud and clear.

The Uchiha twitched and looked at Naruto in surprise, "What?"

"Why the hell did you announce the genjutsu in front of all those other rookies? We could have had a lot fewer enemies in the exams to think about! You went ahead and doubled the amount of shinobi and kunoichi we have to face later! What a move. Now we have to-"

But then a loud voice then boomed from above the trio, "SASUKE UCHIHA!"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura looked over their shoulders and saw Lee on the floor above them as he stared sown at the Uchiha. Naruto looked bewildered while Sasuke looked bored and Sakura looked terrified as she blanched at the shinobi that had asked her out and almost declared his love to her. Sasuke almost looked amused as he anticipated a confrontation, when the older shinobi stared down at him and clenched his hands into iron fists.

The Uchiha heir asked, "What? You want to fight me or something?"

Lee hurdled over the rail and landed down on their level and stared down at Sasuke while he crackled his knuckles and nodded to him, "The name is Rock Lee! Yosh! Unlike what Neji did when he was introduced, I addressed who I was!"

"Then I am Sasuke Uchiha. Heir to the famous Uchiha clan," he announced in a dramatic voice.

Naruto smacked his face hard and then moaned while he listened to Lee announce his infatuation towards Sakura and offered her a seductive wink. Lee told the threesome that he desired to fight Sasuke in front of Sakura in order to impress her and he also wanted to fight him to see how true the rumors were about the fearsome Uchiha clan members. All he wanted was a tasted, to which Sasuke answered with another dramatic voice that made no one other than Sakura Haruno shiver.

"You don't even know what it _takes_ to be an Uchiha…" he said as he stared down at the older teen.

The blonde wizard had heard all he needed and told his idiotic teammate and reminded them all, "Sasuke. No one in the world cares other than Sakura-chan. We have to leave _now_. We should be in the exam room."

"Shut up, dobe!" he shouted back at him.

Naruto dismissed his teammate and tried to talk to Lee, "Listen, mate. You're wasting too much time with Sasuke. You should return to your team and get to the exam room like we're supposed to. We're almost out of time."

Lee ignored the blonde shinobi and insisted that he still had time to fight Sasuke Uchiha. The two of them were soon about to clash as Naruto and Sakura backed out of the area and watched as Lee and Sasuke were about to battle. Sakura looked excited while her teammate looked irritated and decided to let it be and wait until Sasuke had ruined their chances to be in the exams and have an excuse to blame him and call him the idiot for once. He and his invisible companion almost couldn't wait to tell Kakashi that Sasuke had ruined it for them and couldn't wait to see him chew out his rival and teach him some manners.

But as soon as the battle had started, Naruto was shocked to see how fast Lee could move when Sasuke stormed at him. The Uchiha tried to attack Lee, but the older teen was so much faster and moved with such incredible ease. Sakura had cheered for her crush and then she froze in shock when Lee struck Sasuke in the face with his foot. She started to shout at Lee each time Sasuke recovered from a blow, stormed at the older teen, and was then smacked back down to start all over. The two of them continued to rumble, all the while, Sasuke was beaten and bruised over and over. Which made Naruto feel a lot better as his rival received what he deserved. Soon Naruto wanted to drive his teammates to the exam room and forget about his earlier desire to let themselves fail and have Kakashi chastise Sasuke for his selfishness.

After he had been beaten a little bit, the tides were about to turn in Sasuke's favor when he activated his Sharingan. Sakura was amazed and felt that her beloved crush would now win against Lee as he stared at him and he noticed its activation. But Sakura did not realize that Sasuke was not on the same level as Kakashi with his own Sharingan. So when he was about to attack Lee, the Uchiha was not able to anticipate Lee's next move when he vanished and then kicked Sasuke in the chin, which sent him over seventeen feet into the air and he continued to soar higher. Sakura was shocked while Naruto almost laughed and then looked over at the clock and worried a little bit. But while the Uchiha was still in the air, Lee had come out of nowhere and was behind Sasuke. The much more advanced rookie shinobi was about to use a new move on the black-haired teen, but then a new and loud voice boomed from across Naruto's location.

"LEE! THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Sakura and her teammate saw a man that looked so much like Lee that he could have been his father. As soon as he had heard the voice boom at him, Lee vanished once more and landed in between Sakura and the man that looked a lot like him. Sasuke started to fall towards the floor, but then Sakura screamed out his name and was able to catch him and soften his fall. As soon as the trio had recovered with Naruto, the three of them watched as Lee's sensei slammed him in the face as a form of punishment for his use of the secret martial art move he was about to use on Sasuke Uchiha. He told him that it was a secret and that he should never use it on an unofficial battle. But then Lee had tears run down his face in rivers and then his teacher knelt down to his level with fat tears of his own rolling down his face. Soon, the teacher apologized to his student and the two of them embraced. Sakura and Sasuke both shivered at the scene and the drama, but their teammate Naruto smiled at the scene and acted a lot more normal than his outrageous teammates.

The blonde shinobi smiled and said, "Oh…That's so sweet…"

"You idiot," his female teammate shouted at him, "Those two are suspicious! Two of them could be spies or even aliens to act like that!"

Naruto chuckled and said, "Somehow I doubt that…"

"Lee! You must still break some sweat as soon as the exams are over," the sensei named Gai announced.

The identical student nodded to his teacher, "I understand, sensei!"

"You must run around the arena five hundred times, and then do it again," he shouted as he aimed towards the skies.

Lee saluted to his mentor and shouted, "Yes, sir!"

Gai-sensei soon turned towards the other three students and studied their features and characteristics. He saw the thin blonde one, the outlandish kunoichi with the red sleeveless dress, and the black-haired Uchiha with the bad attitude. Based on what his rival had told him several times about his own students, all three children matched how he had described them, minus the nerd-like antics that were to be associated with the blonde-haired child. Gai smirked at the three rookies, which caused Sasuke and Sakura to twitch while Naruto tilted his head like a curious child.

He thought as he observed the three students, '_It looks like these are Kakashi's kids…_'

Gai rested his hands on his waist and smiled at the three students and let his flawless white teeth shine and he stated then asked, "Yosh! You three kids! How is Kakashi?"

The Uchiha asked back, "You know about Kakashi?"

"Hmm…do I know him," the man asked as he put his hand up to his chin, he then froze and Sasuke stared him down, but then Naruto watched as he and his teammates watched as Gai vanished out of thin air and then the three of them heard him when he was behind them less than a second later, "I do. We are eternal rivals…"

The three of them all whirled around and stared at Gai in amazement for his unbelievable speed. He must have had some of the best chakra control to be able to move that fast. Not to mention some incredible muscles hidden underneath his legwarmers. Sakura looked to him out of fear and amazement while her blonde teammate looked a little bit more daunted, and the Uchiha looked a lot more unsettled. Naruto soon calmed down and crossed his arms while he was lost in his own world for a little bit.

The blonde shinobi thought with an honest voice, '_I__ think that Kakashi-sensei has him beat in coolness… Those clothes are a little bit... ridiculous..._'

'_**Those thick eyebrows of his are fantastic,**_' the other wizard said to break the tension, '_**Both of them look so warm, I almost want them too…**_'

Sasuke thought while he stared at the eccentric teacher with tension, '_Is this man even human? He's so fast and those eyebrows are so weird…_'

'_Oh, Sasuke-kun, please take me out of here,_' the overwhelmed kunoichi wished, '_This whole exam so far has been one massive freak show and it hasn't even started…_'

Gai huffed out his chest and then announced to the three students with a wide smile as he tried to end their conversation since time was almost out, "The score between us still stands 50 to 49 wins. In other words, I am much stronger than Kakashi… But back to the matter at hand… Please forgive Lee for starting that whole fight earlier. I suppose I forgot to teach him a little bit more about self-control. Please tell Kakashi I said hello! Farewell and the best of luck on the exams! Good luck, Lee!"

Lee saluted him as he vanished and then went to work on his arms as he tied his bandages back onto his hands and arms. Naruto had bad vision, but he still noticed that Lee had loads and loads of bruises, scars, and stitches all over his hands. He soon covered them while Naruto started to wonder about their odds in the exams and then started to think about what he was about to tell Sasuke and Sakura and act like Iruka did for him whenever he didn't listen and needed a lecture. It would seem that his time with Iruka and the lessons he had learned could assist him now. But Lee was still there, and didn't leave until he was done when he faced Sasuke one last time.

He told him in a clear and honest voice, "For the record, Sasuke Uchiha. I wanted to blow off some steam with our battle. But I also wanted to fight so that I could know that you are not the strongest rookie shinobi in the exams from Konoha. It looks like the strongest rookie shinobi in the village is someone from my own team. It looks like I will have to focus on him from now on."

Sasuke started to seethe at Lee for his honest comment and would have attacked him had he not realized how fast he was. The older shinobi still nodded to the fallen Uchiha.

"Thanks for the honor of a short battle," he said, "I wish the best of luck on the exams. Farewell for now."

Lee saluted to three students and then he left them in the entrance hall while he zoomed to the correct classroom with his teammates. Sasuke soon fell back down and sulked while he tried to contain his collected frustrations from the last several months as well as from this latest battle. He tried to hide his face with his hair while Sakura worried about him and dotted him. Naruto was sick of this ridiculous behavior from both his teammates and decided now was the time to end it. All the frustrations and all the tension and hatred that was created and felt because of their selfishness and their own childish desires would ruin them. Naruto decided it was time for a lecture and to kill his title as an idiot.

Naruto looked down at his teammate and said, "Well, he was right. You did get your arse kicked, Sasuke-teme."

"Shut it, Naruto-baka!" screamed his female teammate in an obnoxious voice.

The blonde shinobi did not submit to her and started to scold Sasuke for his actions, "That's what happens when you let your ego take control and want to dominate other random shinobi to fuel that ridiculous superior attitude. You had it coming."

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Sakura yelled again.

Naruto did not listen to his teammate when she screamed at him and was about to slam him in the head. But then he stared at her with a livid look on his face that forced her to hold her arm back and stand where she stood out of fear. He then talked to both his teammates and he almost sounded like Iruka as he scold Sakura and then Sasuke, "NO... Sakura Haruno. You listen to me right now… You saw that Lee kid, right? You saw his hands?"

Sasuke and Sakura stared at Naruto but did not see what he saw or understand where his new leader-like attitude had come from. Like he had turned into an adult from the moment Sakura had screamed at him.

"His hands were bruised and covered with stitches," he told them both as he forced them to realize what other shinobi the three of them could face and forced them both to realize how immature the two of them were in recent events, "He's had a lot more time out there on the field than we have… You know it. He's older than us… I understand that this makes me sound harsh, but the two of you have acted like idiots ever since those other shinobi from Suna arrived and before that as well. You two acted like little kids back there, like Konohamaru and his friends would act. That's pathetic… We have to do what Kakashi-sensei told us to back in the bell-test and start to act more like a team. If we want to become chunin then we have to be teammates. No more rivals and no more random strikes to the head for no reason. I won't have that. None of that stuff will help us in these exams... This isn't school, this is real life…"

Sasuke and Sakura looked at their teammate in shock as their attention was stuck to him and the two of them listened for once. Sasuke removed his hair from his face and stared at his teammate as he scold them both but then calmed down as he tried to reason with them now.

"We have to put our pride and our egos aside and focus on our mission to become chunin. If we want to pass these exams and advance to the next level, then we have to work as a team and work with each other now more than ever. We can't afford to fight with each other and fail when we're this close."

Both of them stared at the blonde preteen and soon the tension and resentment felt earlier vanished as Sasuke stood on his feet and Sakura started to soften her face when she looked at her once-idiotic teammate. Naruto looked over at his male teammate and rival and decided to manipulate him in order to motivate him to listen and work as a team.

"Sasuke," he started as he earned his undivided attention, "You want to show Lee for that little fight earlier, huh?"

The Uchiha nodded to the blonde shinobi and he continued as he criticized him one more time and showed him his forms to remind them of their deadline.

"Then, let's turn in these damn forms and head to the classroom. We're almost out of time. You wasted too much time earlier, now start to act like a real shinobi and let's move out."

The black-haired rookie looked down at the floor and cleaned the blood on his mouth and started to think about another confrontation with Lee and his sudden desire to beat him for his recent defeat. Soon, the Uchiha heir followed his teammate as well as Sakura while he led them over to the correct offices to turn in their forms and head to the classroom for their exams.

Sasuke Uchiha then muttered in a low voice as he followed his matured blonde-haired rival, "The next time I see that idiot… He's dead meat…"

* * *

{{_The Train by James Newton Howard_}}

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura were able to turn in their forms and still had a little bit more than one minute to waste as the three of them arrived at the floor to Room 301. The trio turned the corner and marched down the hall to see their sensei Kakashi was at the doors and waited for them to arrive. Once the three students were close to the doors and their sensei. Kakashi hid his hands in his pockets and smirked at his bewildered students and nodded to the one kunoichi.

He then said, "You decided to come after all, Sakura,"

The kunoichi was lost as she stared at her teacher, as well as her crush. But then Naruto sighed since he was tired of his idiotic mask and decided that his older brother was right and that it was time for him to come out of his shell and shine. So he smirked at his teacher and looked over at Sakura and Sasuke as he shocked them both as well as his sensei with what he had determined about the start of the exam.

"It's the teamwork again, sensei?" he asked, "You wouldn't have let us get through those doors unless we entered as the three-man team. Is that correct?"

Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi were all stunned and a little bit dazed when Naruto decided to come out and show his true intellect. The masked shinobi stared at his student, as he did not think even for a moment that he would understand what he was about to elucidate on with the three-man teams rule. But he had deduced it almost as soon as he had the first hint. Sasuke had figured it out earlier, but he didn't think Naruto would ever be able to. The blonde shinobi acted so smart and decisive when contrasted to how he used to be when he had first started on the team.

"Uh…Yes… That's correct, Naruto," the masked shinobi breathed and then smiled, "I wouldn't have let any of you guys enter the exam without one of your teammates. The exam only allows groups of three students to enter. That's how the exams are set and how it's been run ever since I was a kid and entered too… I also wanted to test Sakura's true devotion to the team, and not feel pressured to take the test in favor of Sasuke. I wanted her to come here based on what her heart told her to. You passed, Sakura. Well done."

Kakashi smiled at each of his students and smiled at them all with pride in his heart. He wanted the best for them and all he had to do was wait until the four of them would be reunited should all his students finish the first test and then survive the second one. He was certain all three of them would come out well in the end, and so he told them, "Sakura… Sasuke… and Naruto… I am proud of each and every one of you… Good luck…"

The masked shinobi stood aside and let his students enter. The three children walked over to the doors and opened them wide and into a massive classroom as their sensei remained behind and watched the door close.

* * *

To Be Continued...

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**Yeah, I know, Naruto was a little bit super-smart when he discovered the true purpose of the three-man teams rule of the exam, but I thought it was a nice start to have Naruto start to show the world what he can do in this universe.**

**Naruto: That was nice! I sounded like such an adult back there with Sakura and Sasuke! I mean I whipped that teme! I owned them! I love that stuff! **

**Iruka: (with tears of pride) So mature… He was so mature…**

**AZ44: Hahahahahah! You did nice with the Kankuro-pants-thing. The argument between Kakashi and Iruka was also good. I still can't understand how that scene and the one in the last chapter was what inspired millions of yaoi material on the internet. **

**K: That is odd.**

**Iruka: Tell me about it.**

**AZ44: Also the design of the clothes is so much better for Naruto than the previous version. Back then he wore Harry Potter's First Task clothes and robe from the Goblet of Fire film. It was nice in the movie, but it was described like it was taken out of the wizarding world. It was too… out-of-world to be worn in the Naruto universe. The clothes in this version are so much better. I assume this one was inspired by what the tributes wore in the Hunger Games, right? Books or movie?**

**K: Yeah, it was. But it was much more suitable than the Triwizard Tournament outfit. But I changed the colors and still had him stitch the Gryffindor lion on the back, but I made it a lot less obvious.**

**AZ44: I'm impressed.**

**K: Which reminds me, what clothes will Naruto wear in Lord of Time?**

**Naruto: Yeah, what will I wear?**

**AZ44: SHUT UP, GUYS! SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTHS!**

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**This is fun! But I know in the end, Azeroth44 will do something insane as soon as we've teased him enough. But it doesn't matter, since I'm having so much fun with it! Please be sure to review if you are reading this, it took a lot of time to fix this chapter. Thanks!**


	4. The First Exam

"Blah": Talking

'**Blah**': Demon speaking/Inner Sakura

'Blah': Naruto's thoughts/other people's thoughts

'_**Blah**_': Harry talking to Naruto

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**Hello! We're back online! **

**Apologies for not posting this as soon as I had planned from the start, but I had writer's-block and had to take some time and focus on other things. But I'm back and here's the new chapter. Azeroth44 won't be here now, but I plan to have him back soon once he's available… or when he's not using the stress ball to vent out his frustrations from the last time he was here :3**

**Well, I'm not sure what else to talk about without him here at the moment… I suppose I could announce some menial plans I have for this re-write, without spoilers:**

**Umm, I plan to use some kick-ass music when Naruto and Neji face off in the finals this time. After I watched the anime Fairy Tail for a little bit, I decided to throw out the Scott Pilgrim music I once used in the previous version of Chunin Exams and instead use Natsu's theme when Naruto decides to use the demon fox's chakra if he must use it in order to win. Or whenever Naruto obtains an advantage over enemies such as Kiba or Gaara whenever he starts to shine as a shinobi.**

**That's all I have at the moment, I'm afraid. I suppose it's time to move on to the fanfic then! Please make sure to review!**

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**Reviews are welcome and wanted!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto,**

**Harry Potter is property of JK Rowling,**

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Chapter 4: The First Exam

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When Kakashi's students entered the classroom, the three of them were met with a sight that caused them to freeze like statues. The classroom was filled to its brim with shinobi and kunoichi of all ages and sizes. All the occupants looked unique and different with their own clothes, uniforms, weapons, and headbands. But it didn't come as a surprise as all these students came from all over the world to take these advanced tests. But apart from of their different faces and clothes, all of them shared one common characteristic, as all of them were irritated with the arrival of the newest rookie students. Naruto and his teammates studied the faces of the other students all around them and were made aware that none of them were welcomed inside.

Sakura was frightened and she started to shake a little bit while her teammate Sasuke looked a little bit nervous for once but tried to look calm and cool. Naruto on the other hand, looked a little bit more controlled as he wasn't worried about the other students, since he had seen much scarier creatures and shinobi out in the real world. He would be a lot more concerned if he were stuck in a classroom full of dementors instead of harsh-faced rookies. Naruto focused inward and talked to his older brother so that he didn't have to feel as awkward as his teammates must have felt at the moment.

'_Oh man… I wish I had some tea in a flask to break the tension I feel in here…_'

'_**Naruto… You are still aware of the rules of which I have conditioned you with while you are taking your exam?**_'

'_Yeah. __I am not to talk to you while I am taking the written test, if there is one. I am not allowed to rely on you for help that would be considered unfair to the other students. I have to pass this exam with my own talent and skills. Chakra and magic alike._'

'_**I will only intervene whenever your life is in danger, like if we have another incident like we did in the woods of the Land of Waves.**_'

'_Don't need to remind me of that. But I think I'll be alright…_'

Naruto felt a little bit more insecure while he looked around and saw even more irritated faces stare at him. So he looked around and tried his best not to look at someone too much in case someone wanted to have a violent confrontation. But while he tried to look around and look more interested in the walls or the desks, he noticed that some of the other shinobi were a lot older than he realized. Some of the men in the room were in their late teens or adults, while some were old or even in their late fifties. It would seem that there was no age-restriction to the Chunin Exams and that whatever able-bodied shinobi or kunoichi was allowed to enter. All the while, all those faces still stared at Kakashi's team with irritation, which started to make Naruto and his teammates wonder if even one human in the room wanted to see their faces in the room.

"SASUKE-KUN!" screamed out a familiar kunoichi's voice, "Where have you been, cutie?"

It was Ino Yamanaka, and she was one of the numerous Sasuke Uchiha fangirls around the village that loved and swooned over the selfish teen. She graduated in the same class as the rest of the students from Naruto's class. She had teal-blue eyes and long pale blonde hair that covered the right side of her face and reached down to her waist down her back. She wore a short purple vest with a raised collar, a skirt that cut off on the sides and white bandages that were wrapped over her exposed stomach and slender legs. Ino also wore purple and white arm warmers that she chose to wear because Sasuke wore the same ones, but his were dark-blue. She was an interventionist and had a lot of attitude for a kunoichi that was in love with Sasuke. Which was somewhat of a contrast to the norm, because most of the fangirls that claimed to be in love with Sasuke were often weak. In fact, none of the students that had earned their headbands from the same class become kunoichi and were kicked out the curriculum.

Back to current events, the blonde kunoichi embraced Sasuke from behind and wrapped her arms around his torso. This caused the Uchiha heir to stare at Ino with a flat and irritated face.

"When I entered the exams, I kept on thinking to myself that you would show up and couldn't wait to see," she then started to rub her face into his smooth black hair and screamed, "Oh, Sasuke-kun! You're here now! This is the best!"

Sakura lashed out at Ino and screamed at her when she saw her rival tackle her beloved, "INO-PIG! YOU GET YOUR GRUBBY HANDS OFF OF HIM!"

"Oh, hello, Sakura," the blonde kunoichi addressed to her old friend in a less-than-amused voice, "I can still see that the billboard brow look is still in. That's so cute."

Sakura's face contorted with wrath and she screamed, "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?"

'_**OH, THE BLOODY HORROR RETURNS!**_'

Naruto tried to leave in order to silence his older brother when the two terrible kunoichi started another of their famous rows with each other over their constant race to claim Sasuke's heart and treat him like a favored doll. The blonde shinobi let his rival suffer while he turned to see his two old friends from school that he had missed over the summer, Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi. The two of them arrived with their teammate Ino, but looked bored and uninterested with the affair between her and Sakura and looked a little bit better when their old blonde classmate saw them. Shikamaru hadn't changed much as he wore the same clothes since he started his shinobi career; he wore the same green lined mesh t-shirt under a short sleeved grey jacket with green edges, adorned on both the sleeves and the back with a circle with a line through it. His blue headband was still worn around his left arm; he still had the same brown pants as well as the same usual blue sandals. His rather obese teammate still wore black shorts, a long white scarf, a short-sleeved, green haori, over a white shirt with his clan's sign on the front, now wore small hoop earrings, and his legs and forearms were now wrapped in bandages. Choji's headband was fashioned in a manner that allowed two tufts of brown hair to poke out at each side. His mother must have fashioned it so that he could look a lot more like the rest of his clan.

Naruto offered a small wave towards his old friends and waltzed over to them.

"Hello, mates," he beamed at them both, "What's up?"

Shikamaru moaned, "You and those new teammates are making all this noise? How troublesome…"

Naruto smiled as he walked over to his old friends and remembered all the times and trouble the three of them had been in while in school. Shikamaru and Choji were the only two students that ever talked to him at school that didn't insult him or ignore him like he didn't exist. Shikamaru was often slothful and whined a lot about how the world was so much trouble, while Choji was obese, warm, kind, and loved life a lot more than his best friend. It looked like the two of them were a little bit taller than the last time the three of them had seen each other, however Choji looked a little bit rounder than Naruto remembered as he ate some flavored potato chips and smiled.

"Shikamaru Nara... Still can't stop whining about life, huh?" the blonde shinobi asked with a smile.

Choji asked in between bites of potato chips, "So… Where's that old tracksuit? You threw it out then, Naruto?"

"Gone, for now at least," the blonde preteen nodded, "I had to wear something else for the exams."

The fattened shinobi male examined Naruto's new outfit and took a break from his snacks to observe the new clothes. He noticed the lion stitched onto the back and then stood back with Shikamaru and commented on the new survival outfit and a wide smile and made his cheeks look even more round, but cute, like a chibi.

"It looks cool, Naruto," he told him, "I like the lion!"

But then another harsh voice boomed out from inside the crowd and commented, "It's ridiculous! Look at that stitch work! It's awful! That lion looks like an overfed housecat!"

Naruto froze when he heard the voice and looked over Choji's shoulder to see Kiba Inuzuka and his teammates follow him from behind. He now wore dark grayish pants reaching down to his calves with a grey, hooded fur-lined coat, with the hood over his head. Whenever it was like that, the fur-line almost looked like his whole hair, at least from Naruto's view due to his diminished vision. Kiba smirked at Naruto and showed off his white canines. The blonde shinobi frowned at the teen and remembered back in his first week at this old school back when Kiba used to be nice to him. But after there was an incident with his clan in which his father left him and his mother, Kiba had taken out all his frustration and rage out on Naruto and beat him until he had to be taken to the hospital. Ever since then, Kiba had been so mean to Naruto and took whatever chances he could to make him more miserable than he was. Kiba had stolen his lunch, ruined his comic books, and teased him when Iruka wasn't around when the two of them were classmates. Naruto hated Kiba for how he treated him but he never took the chance to make fun of him or be smart with him, unless he showed better results with his studies on several occasions or used unintentional wandless magic on him to make him look foolish. Still, since Naruto now decided it was time to come out and shine, he refused to let Kiba have the last laugh and be smart with him. So now it was his turn to show him who was boss.

"Looks like the dobe and the rest of the old class are all here!" he announced with an obnoxious voice as he tried to act like Sasuke towards Naruto.

But the blonde shinobi frowned at the teen and said, "Oh, shut it, Kiba. You can cut the act with the Sasuke-attitude and still look like an arse without it."

"Watch the mouth, Uzumaki!" he threatened as he snarled.

Naruto retorted back as he mocked him with sarcasm, "Oh dear me. I feel so threatened. Get on out of here and go feed some whippets! You'd be more useful then!"

"Umm… H-hello…" a small but kind voice sounded behind the canine-like student.

{{_Enter Zelda by Koji Kondo & Yoshiko Kawamoto_}}

The blonde wizard looked around for the source of the voice and saw Hinata Hyuga from his old class and smiled at her. The two of them had never talked to each other that much while in school, but Hinata was the nicest kunoichi from their class and was the one girl in the class that wasn't in love with Sasuke and treated Naruto with kindness. She now wore a cream-colored hooded-coat with a fire sign on the upper right and left sleeves with fur around the cuffs and hem of the coat. She also wore blue trousers and wore her headband around her neck. Hinata nodded over to the blonde shinobi and then she started to blush a little bit, while Kiba stared at her as she started to talk to him, albeit, it was a little bit difficult from her end for her natural timid nature.

"Gomenasai, N-Naruto-kun…" she excuse her teammate for his earlier comment, "Kiba-kun didn't m-mean to be so m-mean…"

Naruto smiled at her and told her back, "Oh, it's fine... It's been a while since we last saw each other, Hinata."

"Umm…" she stuttered as she observed his new clothes and made a comment, "Y-Yeah… You l-look n-nice…"

The blonde shinobi nodded in return to her kindness, "Thanks. I like these clothes a lot more than the old tracksuit I used to wear."

"Oh… I thought the old c-color looked nice too…" she mentioned and then said, "B-but this new one is better. T-that dark shade and scarlet can be an incredible colors t-to wear w-while on a mission."

Naruto and Hinata started to talk a little bit, while Sasuke tried his best to be removed from Ino and Sakura's holds while the two of them shouted at each other. At the same time, Kiba frowned at Naruto whenever he smiled and his stoic friend and teammate Shino remained as still as a statue. Shino Aburame still wore the same clothes he wore since the start of their final term in school and stood there, like he was a lifeless statue. About one moment later, Choji had finished his snacks and looked over at Kiba's animal familiar Akamaru as he climbed onto his master's head. The Akimichi heir stared at the small animal and noticed that it looked a little bit more round around its midsection since the last time he ever saw the animal. His mouth started to water a little bit and he started to think of Akamaru as a delicious uncooked chicken based on the color of his white fur.

"That Akamaru would taste good with some hot sauce," he mumbled as his mouth watered some more.

Naruto had heard what his friend mumbled and looked appalled, "Oh Cho, that is well-bad."

'_**Well, that's one name I'll never think the same about again…**_'

As soon as all the loud noises and casual conversations filled the room, a man in his late teens from the crowd walked over to the rookie students. He had silver-like hair that was tied into a low ponytail, wore large glasses, a dark purple shirt with a high collar, a white under-shirt, fingerless gloves with armored plates on the back of the hands, a white cloth waistband worn at an angle, dark purple pants, blue sandals, and a shuriken holster on his right thigh. He looked irritated, as did most of the other shinobi in the classroom but he was the first of them to saunter over to the rookies and tell them off for all the noise.

He asked the nine rookies all at once, "You kids want to do us all a favor and shut up?"

All the students were silenced and turned towards the older shinobi and stared at him as he started to smirk at the children and talk down to them like the nine of them were babies or toddlers.

"You kiddies are the ones we all heard about," he said, "You little brats are the first genin to enter the Chunin Exams without having been rookies for more than twelve months. You know, this isn't some school field trip."

Ino asked as she released her hold on the Uchiha, "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I am Kabuto Yakushi," the teen told them as he nodded and then pushed his glasses against his nose as if it made him look a lot cooler than he looked.

Naruto stared at him and almost covered his nose when he whiffed a foul and familiar stench that came from him. The blonde shinobi soon realized that it was the scent of a snake. Back when he entered his second term at school, Naruto had discovered that he had a knack for a certain scent. He discovered that it was a residual trait he inherited from Harry that was related to Parseltongue. Naruto was not able to talk to snakes, but this new inherited trait enabled him to be able to smell out serpents and be able to sense when a dangerous one was close. He had realized his small inheritance when he had taken a small and harmless snake home with him and tried to talk to it. But all he was able to do was take in a distinct smell from the creature. It was different for each snake he ever saw; as he wouldn't mind the smell the less harmful the snake was. But the more dangerous ones or the more hostile ones had a stench that was almost foul to him, like it was a pheromone that warned him to leave. The last time he had ever smelled a foul snake, was back when he had trained in the woods and a violent and venomous brown snake tried to attack him, but he had stunned it in time when it had hissed at him and showed off its venomous fangs.

At the moment, Naruto could smell a similar but much more volatile scent from the man that was called Kabuto Yakushi. It smelled like he was covered with dangerous and venomous snakes or he had bathed with them.

While Naruto tried his best not make it obvious about the scent he smelled, he started to develop another one of those weird headaches that made his forehead feel like it burned. It started to feel a little bit worse as he stood closer and closer to Kabuto Yakushi.

Kabuto went on to tell the rookies that this was his seventh time he had taken the exam with his teammates. He told them of the horrible endeavors that he had faced and what others less fortunate than him had suffered. Kabuto told the students how dangerous it was and went into morbid detail about how his old friends and comrades were mutilated and massacred at the hands of other shinobi from the same village. He went into even more detail as he lectured the students about how comrades he went to school with or random familiar faces he had seen on the street were turned into heartless killers that tried to eliminate him in order to win in a survival exam. These stories shook the nine genin, while some of them hid it well better than others.

Kabuto then told them that in his various experiences, he started to take in statistics. He showed the smaller students that he had collected information on these exams for all his encounters with other shinobi and converted the information on small cards that he called his Ninja Info Cards. He showed them one of the cards that contained a dossier on all six shinobi villages that had sent in their rookies here to this classroom. So far, Konoha had the most students that were involved, Suna came in at second, Amegakure was in third, and was then followed with Kusa, Taki, and the smallest count was a new village that was called Otogakure no Sato. Kabuto told the rookies that he could obtain information about a shinobi while he could detect their chakra close to him.

When he heard this, Sasuke demanded that Kabuto hand him over some information that he wanted about several shinobi that were in the room with them. The older rookie nodded and smiled to the Uchiha as he shuffled his deck.

Kabuto asked him, "So, Sasuke-kun… You wanna learn more about someone here? Who is it?"

Sasuke cleared his throat and named three shinobi, "Gaara from Suna. Rock Lee from Konoha… and Naruto Uzumaki also from Konoha."

Naruto turned to his teammate in slight astonishment while Sasuke looked determined to learn more about Gaara and Lee, but also about Naruto as he had showed him how fast he could move when he saved Konohamaru and had revealed his skills as a leader almost fifteen minutes earlier. It looked like Sasuke wanted to know how far Naruto had advanced without his notice and learn how much harder he should train in order to match or dominate him if he was behind. All the other rookies did not understand Sasuke's reasons for his desire to see Naruto's dossier, but no one asked him what he was so interested about. With the exception of the blonde shinobi that stood close to the determined Uchiha clan member.

"What the deal, Sasuke?" he asked.

Sasuke did not even look at his teammate while he watched Kabuto shuffle the cards and focus his chakra into them and used whatever it was that extracted the information from the desired shinobi. There was a little bit of white smoke that blasted out of the cards and once it had cleared, the black-haired rookie almost shivered as he waited for Kabuto to show him the information. He was impatient and clenched his hands into fists as the older rookie teased him with his wide smirk.

Sasuke demanded, "Let me see them."

Kabuto showed them all Lee's information. It was revealed that he was so skilled in taijutsu that his stats that covered it were off the charts, which made some of the genin feel a little bit unsettled. He had no talent in genjutsu or ninjutsu, but what he lacked in those two sections he excelled in his time on the field, his skills with a blade, and his various martial arts. He had a reasonable number of successful missions, which included D-Ranked and C-Ranked missions, since he had been a shinobi for more than thirteen months.

Sasuke nodded and then moved on to the next card.

All the other rookies were bewildered with Gaara's dossier. All of his information was unknown or censored for whatever reasons. All that Kabuto was able to obtain was that Gaara and his teammates had eight successful C-Ranked missions and one successful B-Ranked mission. It was odd for someone who was not even a shinobi for more than seven months to have no D-Ranks on their record and start with C-Ranked mission. It caused all the genin that looked at the card to feel a little bit alarmed as some of them looked over at the Suna team in the back and saw how serious or confident that team looked as the three of them waited for the exam to start.

Sasuke was still curious about the redhead from the desert, but he moved on to the final dossier.

The students that knew Naruto from their interactions with him from school were a little bit more than shocked when his information was revealed to them. His ninjutsu levels ran across the charts and his genjutsu abilities were almost at the same level as all the other rookies from his old class. Not to mention that his genetic status was off the charts as well. His taijutsu levels and skills with a blade were also high on the list, which were the two sections that looked reasonable to the students and friends that went to school with Naruto Uzumaki.

All the former students that went to school with the blonde shinobi were dumbstruck at this development. Naruto was not supposed to be that skilled. Otherwise he wouldn't have been at the bottom of their class, he could have been on the same level as Sasuke, or a little bit lower to be on the more realistic side. Kabuto looked at his new status card over several times and checked to see if he had read it wrong.

"Whoa…" he said, "Your ninjutsu status and genetic status is off the charts! It's higher than another Konoha citizen that's alive; I've never seen someone with stats this high… You must have some rare kekkei genkai… Tell me; what is it?" he asked with a fascinated voice and face.

Naruto started to sweat a little and he tried to lie, "It looks like those cards are inaccurate. The genjutsu count there shouldn't be that high."

"Huh? Now that's different," the older rookie noticed as he took the card and studied it closer, "According to this… You used to have a different name… It's difficult to pronounce. But, I think it's… Harry Pott-"

Naruto dashed over to him and snatched the card out of his hand before he could read the rest of the name. The furious blonde shinobi then tore the card into shreds until he threw it aside as useless blank confetti. He could have burned the remains with his wand, but he was not that foolish, so he left them on the floor and assumed no one would be able to fix it. When he thought about how the older rookie was able to obtain that name, he assumed he must have written his older brothers name on an old test when he was little or Kabuto's methods to obtain information was a little bit more thorough than he or the other genin realized. Like he could slide his chakra around his victim and extract information somehow. If that was the case, Naruto had to make sure his Occlumens shields were raised while he was in the same room as Kabuto Yakushi.

Kabuto stared at Naruto with a livid face when he looked down at the remains of one of his valuable cards while the blonde shinobi stared down at him and looked a lot more than furious with the older rookie as he let the others see the information that was meant to be private until he showed it. For all he knew, Kabuto could have discovered his true abilities with those cards and showed them to all his friends and old classmates.

"I don't appreciate it when other people read up on my private information, Kabuto," he told the rookie with a stern voice, "You should be a lot more considerate."

Kabuto then smirked, "Well… it won't even matter in the end. Because the next time anyone here will be read about for their information, will be when the doctors are writing down their names at the morgue. Because these other villages didn't just send in some expendable small-time shinobi, all of them sent in their best soldiers, male and female. I don't know that much about Otogakure no Sato as much as the more essential villages. But all these other shinobi are forces to be reckoned with."

"Does someone else feel a little bit outclassed?" asked Hinata in a soft voice.

Sakura drowned out her old classmate, "So what you're saying is…that everyone here is…"

"All the other genin in this room are the absolute best of their kind. These are the cream of the elite, the best rookies in the entire world. You so much as cross with them, it'll mean the end," the older rookie stated.

All of the nine freshest genin felt shivers as all of them looked over at the older students while Kabuto smirked at the children and shuffled his cards. Sakura started to feel doubtful and a little bit scared when she saw a man double her size crack his knuckles at her. Even the more fearless or unconcerned rookies like Kiba, Sasuke and Shikamaru looked a little bit nervous and showed some doubt on all their faces. Shino, Choji, Ino, and Hinata all looked a little bit concerned (minus Shino) but one of the rookies remained calm as he stared at the malicious faces that were aimed at him and his teammates. Naruto Uzumaki looked them all over and shrugged them all off like none of the other shinobi and kunoichi were even there while he used his abilities as an Occlumens to channel them out.

He then asked out loud so that all his old classmates would listen to him as he looked back at older teen with the cards, "And we're not the same as them?"

Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, and Kabuto looked at him and noticed as Naruto attracted a little bit of attention from all the other candidates inside the massive classroom, but never noticed it and listened in on him.

"Look here, Yakushi. Those other rookies over there are in just as much trouble as we are; because our sensei's wouldn't have recommended us unless we were the cream of the elite, too. And that's what we are. You can bet no one in this room has a better chance to become chunin. So those swimsuit models over there should start to wet their trousers about now while there's still time, because none of them have an advantage over us with their fake mean-faces and those rub-on tattoos. I know I won't fall for it. Not for one minute."

The blonde made sure he stood tall and faced all his classmates while he continued to channel out all the other shinobi and kunoichi that were behind him. He was focused on his friends and old classmates as well as the older teen that watched and listened to him. Naruto took a breath and then announced to all his old classmates.

"I am Naruto Uzumaki. And no one in this classroom will ever be able to beat me," the blonde shinobi told the older rookie in a clear but controlled voice, but then he looked over at the other genin behind him when he noticed that the first students at the front had heard him, so he turned and smiled at those particular shinobi in a more comedic nature and waved at them after a little bit of hesitation, "Oh, hello there!"

Several of Naruto's old classmates that had listened to his earlier statement about how their sensei's trusted them with their recommendations and the fact that most of the older rookies in the room were in-fact fakes caused them to feel a whole lot better and even caused some of them to smile. All of the doubt that had clouded their determination to become chunin started to fade while some students like Hinata felt stimulated and were able to smile at the blonde preteen while he sweat a little bit at the older rookies that stared at him for his offensive statement. At the same time, outside the classroom doors, Kakashi had heard his student. Before he had heard him, even he had to admit that he was doubtful about his students once Iruka's words had sunk in and his memories of the Chunin Exams and the difficulties other students had to face had come back to him. He had to admit that he was overcome with overconfidence because his rival Gai was in the same room, and it was sometimes hard for him not to show off while he was around. But then he heard Naruto's warm and familiar voice and he smiled as he breathed and waited to hear his other female student shout, scream, or hiss at the blonde student he couldn't see.

"Oh, that's our Naruto…" the masked shinobi sighed.

The blonde wizard chuckled a little bit and then said, "Well, those folks don't look so thrilled… But at least we feel better now, huh?"

"WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH HIM?" the Yamanaka kunoichi hissed at her rival.

Sakura stood like a statue the whole time and frowned at her teammate, '_Oh, how could I have listened to him earlier when he does stuff like that?_'

"Oh, please…" the Uchiha mocked his teammate.

Kabuto smirked as he noticed all the shinobi and kunoichi that stared down at Naruto and thought, '_Nice little testament, Uzumaki… He does have a lot of fire in him but he'll be one of the first ones to die after the first exam…_'

Kiba tried to hold back his snickers towards his former classmate and even tried to mock him about his little statement. Even though it made him feel a whole lot better and a lot more confident about his chances in the exams after Kabuto had demoralized him earlier. He should have thanked Naruto for the little boost, but he decided to treat him all the same.

Shikamaru sighed at his friend's actions, "How troublesome, he went ahead and turned an entire room full of random shinobi into an entire room full of enemies… At least he's not on the same team as me…"

"I thought that bit at the end was hilarious," his chubbier friend added with a smile of confidence, "With that weird accent of his, he's a laugh!"

Sakura sauntered over to her teammate and started to hiss at him and hide her blonde teammate behind Ino and her teammates so that the other rookies inside the massive classroom couldn't stare at them or remember their faces.

"Naruto-baka," she hissed, "Hush it down! We don't need more trouble! Leave all that to Kabuto or someone!"

The blonde shinobi then asked, "Huh? How come Kabuto?"

"Because I think he might have ticked off someone there in the back ever since he mentioned that new small Oto town," she told him as she motioned towards three other rookies in the crowd.

{{_Harry Dreams by Patrick Doyle_}}

Naruto looked over Ino but wouldn't see them until a little bit later. Inside the crowd, there was a lone genin team from Otogakure so Sato, or the Village Hidden in the Sound. The short genin in the middle wore bandages that covered most of his face, leaving only his left eye uncovered. He also wore a large poncho with long sleeves, a snake patterned scarf around his neck, and a straw raincoat protruding from the back of his scarf. His back was hunched, which made him look a lot smaller than he looked when compared to his other two teammates. The taller one on the side had spiky, dark hair and dark eyes. He wore a beige shirt with two black stripes and three prints of the kanji for death (死) down the front. His headband had an attached happuri under the cloth and wore a snake-patterned scarf around his neck. The third member of the new team was a kunoichi about the same age as Sakura or Ino. She had long black hair that almost reached down to the floor, tied by a violet ribbon right near the end, and had black eyes. She wore a headband, a pale green vest that was somehow similar to a flak jacket, and snake patterned pants with a scarf, much like her teammates.

"Oi, Dosu... Kin..." the tall one muttered.

The short one named Dosu asked, "What is it, Zaku?"

"Want to have some fun with that nerd with the trading cards?" the teen named Zaku asked back.

Dosu nodded and smiled under his mask, "Sounds like fun... That little twit said he doesn't even have a dossier on us, like Otogakure is not even a village."

"Let's show that little loser what we can do if he crosses us in the arena." the kunoichi called Kin said with a sadistic tone.

The three of them vanished out of thin air and then stormed at Kabuto in a vicious and merciless manner. One of the three shinobi soared above the other rookies and threw a kunai down at Kabuto to distract him. Once Kabuto was in battle and avoided the blade that missed him, the other male on the new team came out from under him and tried to slam Kabuto in the face with his arm encased inside a metal gauntlet with holes. But Kabuto moved in an instant and avoided the attack. But then a moment later, his glasses shattered and then another moment after that, he felt sick and then vomited all over the floor, which left the rookies shaken as to how that had been done. The sickened rookie shook as he stared at the two shinobi and one kunoichi that had attacked him as the three of them looked down at him like a small beaten child.

The tall thin one named Zaku announced with an arrogant voice, "Put this in those little cards, Yakushi. The rookies from Otogakure no Sato will be the ones to become chunin this season!"

In that moment, when the Oto shinobi and kunoichi arrived and looked over at the smaller genin, it hit him in an instant, but then it was over in a flash. Naruto felt a sharp, hot pain shoot across the scar on his forehead, underneath his headband. It was a lot like the headaches he felt when he was around Mizuki, when he first met Haku in the woods, and now when he was close to Kabuto and smelled those snakes he was scented with. But now it was so much more intense, like he had a lit match and had it pressed against his forehead. It was much more than than those old headaches but when it was over he felt an instinct to retreat or leave the room. But he resisted the sudden instinct and rubbed his forehead while he trembled near his female teammate.

He winced as he stumbled, "Ouch!"

Sakura looked over to Naruto and asked him in an almost concerned voice, "Naruto? What is it?"

"I… I'm fine…" he answered.

The burn he had felt had vanished as soon as it had hit him, but the instinct to leave for whatever reasons was still there with him. He looked over at Dosu, Zaku, and Kin with Kabuto and that sixth sense he felt remained with him. Naruto stood straight and then he smelled that same smell from Kabuto, but it was worse and it seemed like it came from the shinobi that had attacked the older genin. The blonde shinobi stared at those four shinobi and the burn came back for a moment and then vanished once more. Naruto was about to talk to his older brother about the burn and the urge to leave he felt, but then there was a loud boom and a cloud of white smoke blasted at the front of the classroom and was followed with a loud roar from a massive man with scars.

"ALRIGHT, YOU LITTLE BRATS! SIT DOWN AND LISTEN UP!"

Seventeen men and women came out of the smoke with the tall man in the middle. All of them wore the alternate outfit that some chunin wore, but the tall man in the middle wore a dark leather coat that went down to his feet. The man had a rugged face covered with old wounds and scars that he must have obtained from various missions over his careers. All of the rookies twitched and shook at the man's face and shivered as he stared them all down with the other chunin and various other shinobi that were with him. Even Naruto and Harry felt a little bit intimidated when the two of them likened him to a shinobi-version of a certain notable member of the Order of the Phoenix. The other shinobi that were with him added to the sudden increased tension, but the blonde preteen felt a little bit better as the burns on his forehead felt much better, like he never even had them. So he focused on the front and listened as the man in the middle made an announcement.

"Apologies if we're a little bit late... It's now time to start the exams... I am Ibiki Morino. Your proctor for the first examination," the man named Ibiki Morino talked down to them with a slow, cold, and calm voice that scared all the shinobi and kunoichi when he stared down at the freshest rookies, which confirmed that the lot of them had indeed faked their earlier faces as their sweat started to melt off some of their fake tattoos, "You kids in the back, the ones from Otogakure no Sato. Sit down or be disqualified."

The Oto-nin soon followed his orders and sat down in the closest seats available to avoid the ramifications of their actions. Ibiki smirked at all the children and teens that had arrived to take the exams and looked determined to cut down their numbers as soon as he could.

"While I'm at it, I'm going to establish some more new rules, here…" the tall man started, "From now on, there will be no more fighting inside this classroom. If I see so much as a slap from teammate to teammate, that rookie and their teammates are out of here."

Sakura hid her hands behind her back and tried her best to make sure she never even touched her teammate Naruto no matter what. Sasuke looked over at Sakura and nodded to her when she resisted her usual violent urges and looked towards the front board. At the same time, Kiba looked ticked as he cracked his knuckles and stared over at Naruto, who was much more interested in the man that had arrived with all those other shinobi and kunoichi. Ibiki smiled as all the students in the class listened to him and then he continued to scare them. His subordinates snickered at their leader and watched as all the students twitched and shivered.

"Now… The first level of the Chunin Selection Exams is about to commence… All students in the room come over here in a line and take a seating arrangement card. Read the card and sit down in the seat that is written on the card. Once all the students have been seated, we will start the written exam as soon as the rules have been established."

"This will be fun…" the blonde shinobi whined as he walked over to the line that formed at once.

* * *

Naruto was sent to sit in the third row, which was the closest seat to where Ibiki stood. He looked around and soon realized that no one he knew sat close to him. He was all alone until a kunoichi sat down next to him and stared at her blank test sheet, until she looked over at him and blushed while she fiddled with her hands a little bit. It was Hinata and she looked nervous, but contented that she also sat beside someone she was familiar with. Naruto never even noticed her, until she smiled and waved at him, all the while, she still blushed like she had a fever.

"H-hello, Naruto-kun…" she said.

Naruto looked over at her and smiled, "Hi, Hinata…"

"Let's d-do our b-best…" she stuttered as she smiled at him.

Naruto smiled and nodded to her and then he turned to face the teacher Ibiki. He felt a lot better while Hinata was so close to him. He would have felt a lot worse if he were on his own and faced the tall man on his own with two random shinobi from Konoha and Suna. While he stared at the board and focused on Ibiki, he felt his older brother touch his shoulder and shake him a little bit before he cut the telepathic connection between the two of them to make sure he could work on this test with his own skills and intellect. Naruto fiddled with his pencil and listened to his older brother one last time and then he was on his own.

'_**Good luck, mate.**_'

Ibiki took some chalk from the board and motioned to all the students when the lot of them were seated and handed over their tests, "Don't touch those test sheets until the examination has started, brats… There will be several vital rules that are essential to this test. I'll write them down here and explain them one-at-a-time, but no one is allowed to ask questions or have me repeat them. So listen here and listen well, because I will explain these rules once and that's it."

Sakura looked discontented and thought, '_Why doesn't he want us to ask questions? And what rules is he talking about?_'

Ibiki started the first rule as he wrote it down, "Rule number one. Each student here will have ten points to start out with. The test has ten questions in total; each one is worth one point. Get all the questions right, and that student will maintain those ten points. But with each question a student gets wrong, one point will be deducted form their final score."

'_It's sounds fair so far,_' the blonde shinobi nodded.

The scarred instructor wrote down the next instruction, "Rule number two, this written test is still a teamwork exercise. Passing or failing will be determined by the total number of points held by each member of one team. The task is for each team to have as few deductions as possible from the total of thirty-points with each team."

"WAIT A SECOND," the blonde wizard's vibrant-haired teammate had slammed her head on her desk and bruised her forehead in frustration before she shouted out, "What is this whole thing about a team total are you talking about?"

Ibiki looked down at Sakura and stated, "You didn't listen to what I said. No questions. We have our reasons. Now shut it and listen here. This next bit is crucial."

Sakura remained silent and listened as she almost urinated when the older man had stared her down and frightened her, even though he hadn't raised his voice.

"Now, rule number three. If a fellow teammate tries to do something out of the ordinary…In other words, if any of you tries to cheat… We will deduct two points from each member of the cheaters team. We will watch each and everyone of you brats and if any of you try to cheat, you will be caught."

Most of the rookies in the room felt even more nervous at Ibiki's words and the chunin that were situated all around the classroom snickered and stared them all down like small children.

"If a genin here is caught in the act and cheats, that cheater will not just bring themselves down, but the rest of the team as well. If a rookie here wants to become a chunin and be the best shinobi, then act like one and obtain the answers…"

Naruto stared at Ibiki and nodded his head as he reviewed the rules over and over and listened to the instructor word-for-word. Several rows behind the blonde shinobi, Sakura Haruno had calmed down and tried to assess the situation. She was skilled with tests and exams on blank sheets, so she breathed in and out as she looked over where Sasuke sat and then looked back at her other teammate in the front.

'_Despite Naruto-baka's lack of high test scores in school,_' she thought as she had little confidence in her brave hearted teammate, '_Sasuke-kun and I will be able to retain enough points for all three of us combined…_'

Ibiki then made one more rule, but did not write it down on the board, "One more detail… If someone on a team is unable to retain even one point for themselves, regardless of the other two members scores… will mean absolute disqualification for the entire team."

Sasuke and Sakura both froze at the same time and stared at the back of their oblivious teammate's head and cursed him. Naruto could almost feel both his teammate stare at him and could almost feel their hatred radiate across the classroom wherever the two of them sat. The blonde shinobi sweat a little bit out of nervousness and tried to look wherever his teammate where without the turn of his head.

'_Ooh… The two of them want to kill me so bad… I can feel it… Oh well, it's a good thing that I have magic to aid me here, and a final test score that almost matches Sasuke-teme…_'

Ibiki observed all of the anxious faces that waited for him to start the test and almost smiled as he tortured them with anticipation. He wanted to see which students would buckle under the wait and run out while there was still time. Once he had scanned the classroom one more time, he made his final announcement and informed the students of the time limit, "You have one hour to finish the exam… Starting… NOW!"

The rookies went to work on their tests and the simultaneous sounds of pencils were heard scratching against paper was heard in the air. Naruto turned his white sheet over and looked over his exam to find a question that he could answer. He grew more and more troubled as he realized that he could not answer even one of them unless he was rocket scientist. Naruto went ahead to the tenth question and mused for a moment.

* * *

_Question number 10:_

_This question will not be provided until forty-five minutes into the exam._

_At that time, please answer the proctor's question to the best of your ability._

* * *

Naruto would not be able to answer the tenth question until the end of the test. But even if he waited and risked the entire exam on that, he had no idea how he would be able to answer it. So he went back to the first one and tried to make sense out of it as best he could.

* * *

_Question number 1:_

_The parabola marked B represents the greatest distance the enemy shinobi A, could throw a shuriken from the top of a 23.3-foot-tall tree. Calculate the specific features of the scenario and deduce the range of the weapons effectiveness, assuming a consistent speed for shinobi A's assault upon any enemy shinobi operating within the arc that the flight of the shuriken describes._

_Show your work._

* * *

Naruto hesitated for a few minutes with a blank look on his face and then he fumed at the white sheet in his hands, '_What do these testers expect? That we're all freaking geniuses or something? Stephen Hawking couldn't even answer this crap!_'

The blonde shinobi ran his hand through his blonde hair and tried his best to figure it out. But, each time he tried to think of an answer he assumed it made him sound like an idiot or that he didn't even know what he had been asked and he ended up quoting a line from a Green Lantern comic he had read earlier in the week. This started to trouble Naruto a lot and he realized that not even someone as smart as Sasuke would be able to answer this. The blonde shinobi was about to ask his older brother for assistance, but then he remembered that the connection had been severed and he felt a little bit cold and unbalanced.

When he looked over the other questions, he determined that he would be unable to answer even one of them. It left him no other choice but to cheat. When he looked around and saw the other rookies had trouble with the test like he did, it made him wonder how the sensei's would ever let their students enter an exam where none of them would be able to answer the questions. It was almost like the test was designed to force the rookies to cheat.

It was there that Naruto had a realization, '_Wait a minute here…_'

He remembered how Ibiki said those last directions and it almost sounded like he meant to tell the students a small hint about the exam.

* * *

_If a rookie here wants to become a chunin and be the best shinobi, then act like one and obtain the answers…_

* * *

Naruto racked his brains and listened to that same sentence over ten times until he realized what he had to do, '_That's it! This test is designed to force us to cheat!_'

He looked over at the clock above Ibiki and noticed that the test was fifteen minutes in and he had a little bit of time left to cheat and obtain the answers he needed without the notice of the chunin at the sidelines. Naruto tried to wrack his brains on how to get those answers, but he couldn't think of a ninjutsu for him to use that he knew. Which meant he had to use his magic to assist him and he knew a lot of methods he could use to obtain those answers.

He could Confund someone close to him and have them slide him the answers, but the older shinobi would notice that. Naruto could have used a Disillusionment Charm and vanish for a minute and have a look at someone else's test, but he didn't even know that charm, not to mention someone would notice him start to turn invisible after a while. He tried to think hard and soon remembered a charm that his older brother had taught him back when he was in school. It was called a Copying Charm, which could allow the user to obtain information from a distance and duplicate whatever it was that was aimed at in exact detail to another document, such as the white test sheet Naruto had on his desk.

Naruto tried his best not to smile as he reached into his sleeve and aimed his wand at the document below Ibiki Morino, which contained another test with the correct answers written on it in bold letters. The blonde wizard was meticulous, as he made sure no one else noticed his wand as he hid it in his sleeve and muttered the incantation.

He muttered in a low voice, "_Imatari Mimicus!_"

The charm was invisible and went unnoticed when it was cast. Naruto waited for a moment and realized his aim held true when Ibiki's answer sheet shivered. The blonde wizard then touched his own answer sheet with his wand and watched as the various words and numbers were duplicated like an invisible hand reached out and wrote down all the answers.

Naruto smiled and let the rest of his sheet fill itself out. He hid his wand back into his sleeve and relaxed as he sat back. Sakura and Sasuke soon discovered the true intent of the exam as their blonde teammate had and went on to use their own abilities to obtain the answers; Sasuke used his Sharingan to copy the movements of the student a row ahead of him while Sakura used her natural intellect to find the answers on her own, as she had no secret abilities like her teammates did.

At the same time, other students had discovered what to do and started to cheat with various methods that went unnoticed from the proctors. Naruto continued to relax and stared at the clock for a little bit as his test was finished, and decided to take a short snooze while there was still fifteen minutes left. But he had to make sure he left behind a note to Ibiki on the bottom of his exam, as he assumed he would check the answers later. The blonde shinobi then kicked back and stretched his arms out a little and went to sleep and dream about Quidditch.

Hinata saw him doze off and felt shocked and a little bit crestfallen, because she was about to offer him her answers to the test once she was finished. At the same time, Naruto's teammates were shocked that their blonde friend had dozed off and looked so vicious, like the two of them wanted to kill him and then eat him.

* * *

{{_In The Bathroom by Patrick Doyle_}}

While the test was administered, the jounin in charge of the rookie teams were huddled inside the Jounin Standby Station. It was a warm and comfortable room that could hold over two hundred men and women that wanted to kick back and relax. The room was filled with soft chairs and couches for the older or higher-ranked shinobi to sit on. There were various magazines and adult books that filled the shelves and there were coffee tables that were scattered around in all corners of the room and several televisions, which were all turned off at the moment. There was a state-of-the-art refrigerator filled with instant meals, food saved for other shinobi, and even a small bar filled with various drinks and a mixer. The drinks ranked between normal sodas to various alcoholic beverages. At the moment, there were three shinobi in the room; Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma were seen next to the windows across the door. Asuma started to smoke while Kurenai threw aside a book she was curious about, and Kakashi looked out the window and saw another shinobi team with their sensei walk down the street. As soon as Asuma's smoke reached his nostrils, Kakashi frowned a little bit and walked around the room out of boredom.

"It's too quiet without the students around," the masked shinobi sighed as he walked around the lounge and found a nice sofa for him to sit on across the other two shinobi and admitted, "I miss them a little bit…"

Kurenai and Asuma were both sat beside each other with a table and a metal waste bin for the ashes of his cigarette. The bearded shinobi took a breath of smoke while his female friend drank some tea and blew the smoke from her when he breathed it out on accident towards her. Kurenai never liked smoke like that, but she was used to it, as Asuma had been her friend ever since their time in school. The two of them were seen often times when the two of them weren't with their individual students.

Soon, Asuma sat back and told his masked friend, "You won't have to wait, Kakashi. Our kids will be back at our front doors soon."

"Hmm?" he mused back, "How come?"

The bearded shinobi flicked some ashes from his cigarette and said with a cool and relaxed voice, "I heard that this season's proctor for the first exam proctor is Ibiki."

"Ibiki," the masked man asked in a more unsettled voice, "What? That sadist?"

Kurenai asked them both, "Who's a sadist?"

"You're new with being a jounin, Kurenai," the bearded man chuckled, "It's been over seven months. You should have heard about him now."

She rolled her tantalizing scarlet eyes and said, "So, I'm oblivious. Who is this Ibiki?"

"He's a specialist, Kurenai," the masked shinobi answered while Asuma smiled some more, "He's an _exclusive_ sort of specialist in ninjutsu."

Kurenai tilted her head a little bit and asked, "So what does he specialize in?"

Asuma took a breath of smoke before he turned to face her and told her in that same cool and laid-back voice, "Torture and interrogation."

Kurenai blinked a little bit at what he said, but then the bearded man shook his head, "No worries. He won't inflict physical pain or anything to our students during the test. He doesn't have to. It's not the way he likes to get things done. It's too much of a mess for him. He tortures the mind, not the body. Ibiki has made himself famous for his methods. Everyone knows about Konoha's infamous Torture and Investigation Unit of the ANBU… Ibiki almost founded the unit on his own and he's about as old as we are. Those subordinates he carries with him are all for show…"

* * *

Back with the test, several teams had been unfortunate with luck and were thrown out for cheating several times. Some rookies were able to come to the same conclusion as the others had done, while some were still oblivious to the theme of the exam and cheated out of desperation. Naruto was forced out of his little snooze when he sensed a kunai was thrown over his head and into the exam sheet of a random genin in the seat behind him.

One at a time, the rookies and their teams that had once acted like tough monsters were reduced to tears and sobs or screams and fists when those that were found out were forced to leave and failed their exam with their teammates. This one unfortunate kid had turned violent when he had failed his test and was thrown across the room and into a wall while his teammates were forced to watch as the chunin that had failed him chewed him out and forced him to leave. But Naruto remained calm, as he was certain Sakura was clever enough to answer the questions and even had his faith in Sasuke, as he was certain he must have used his Sharingan to find the answers he needed. But the blonde shinobi's calmness was not unnoticed as Ibiki Morino watched the blonde maverick rest and was not affected with the uncomfortable atmosphere he had created to cause the students to suffocate with tension. He was almost shocked that he was not affected, like he was immune or numb to stress.

But soon, Ibiki looked over at the clock and announced, "All right! The tenth and final question is about to be announced!"

All the students dropped their pencils and listened to the tall, cloaked man with the scars. Sakura and Sasuke both stared at Naruto, outraged to no end that their teammate had fallen asleep and had not even bothered to write down even one word on his test. The two of them almost couldn't wait to either pass or fail so that the both of them could beat their teammate after all those talks he had made with them earlier. At the same time, Kankuro from Suna had come back from the bathroom break he had earlier and snuck all the answers to his older sister, Temari, in the form of some small parchment he had hidden in his clothes. He also took the time to fix his trousers some more, which told some rookies that had seen him earlier the reason he had taken so much time in there.

Ibiki waited until Kankuro was back in his seat and then he announced, "But before we move on to the tenth question, I am establishing one more rule."

All the rookies that were left inside the classroom listened in while some of them furrowed their brows at the tall man that he had waited until now to announce this new development.

"This rule will be critical…" he told them, "You must choose whether or not to answer this final question first."

Temari stood from her seat and cried out, "We have to choose? What happens when someone refuses to answer the question?"

Ibiki closed his eyes and then reopened them dramatically, "Should a genin here choose to not answer the final question," the man told them in a darkened voice, "that rookie as well as their teammates will lose their total score and fail."

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" one of the older shinobi in the back cried out.

A kunoichi in the back asked, "Then why would anyone not want to answer it?"

"Because there is one more rule…" said Ibiki as he lowered his head a little.

Sakura looked frozen with shock and thought, '_How much more bullcrap can he hit us with? THIS IS SO UNFAIR!_'

"If a rookie here answers the question with the incorrect answer," he started and then stated with a loud and clear voice, "then that genin and their teammates will never be allowed to enter the Chunin Selection Exams ever again. Not ever."

All the students in the room held their breath at this news. Naruto looked a little bit worried while a lot of his old classmates looked furious at their instructor and tried to think of excuses while some of them were a lot more vocal about the sudden new rule. Kiba, for one, stood from his seat and called out the tall man with the scars on his face.

"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS, DUDE," shouted Kiba in the middle row, "Other shinobi from before have re-entered for the exams over seven times! Look at that Kabuto Yakushi over there!"

Ibiki smirked at the child and told him, "All of those applicants from before had dumb luck. Not to mention that _I_ wasn't the one who administered their exams back then," almost all the rookies that remained held their breath as the man in the front decided to offer the students to choose their fate, "Here are the choices… You could raise your hand to quit now and take the exam again next time… Or… You can take the chance and risk it all now…"

All of the genin started to debate over their choices while others were fast in their decision and raised their hands. It didn't take much time until at least seven teams had decided to leave with their hearts broken and ashamed. The shinobi around Naruto soon started to vanish but he sat there where he was as he watched and waited for the classroom to clear out. He sat there in his seat and went over the options and what could come out of his decisions, should he choose to be safe with his teammates. He wanted to move forward, but if he remained there and refused to move and answer to Ibiki, then he would risk Sakura and Sasuke's careers. If one of them answered wrong and the three of them were stuck as genin, he would never be forgiven for not raising his hand. But if he did raise his hand and wanted his friends to be able to move on and ascend the ranks next time, his teammates would still resent him for his decision. He could not make a choice and not face a consequence in the end. So in the end, he decided to do what his heart told him to so and remain in his seat with his hands down at his sides.

All the while, Sakura waited and waited for Naruto to raise his hand and save his own chances. For once, Sakura was not as selfish as she was when she thought back to Naruto's numerous statements to become a Hokage. For the first time, she thought about her teammate like he was her friend and didn't want to see him ruin his own career for his teammates sakes. She wouldn't be able to blame him if he wanted to leave and save their chances for another time. So she waited and wondered the reason he never even moved from his seat and stared at the board ahead of them.

'_How come he won't raise his hand? __Why doesn't he raise his hand?_'

Sakura watched her teammate while Ibiki took a small walk close to front row. He noticed as Naruto did not even move a muscle and waited for the time to come. The tall man soon stood over the blonde shinobi and cast a dark shadow over him Naruto looked at Ibiki and remained calm as he raised his mental shields so that he was immune to whatever method of intimidation the man would use on him or the others around him. Ibiki almost smiled down at Naruto in a more sinister nature, like he was about to hurt him and like it. And even still, the blonde-haired preteen remained immune while others would be a lot more scared or terrified in his situation.

"You seem to be acting rather calm to have had time to go to sleep during my examination," the man said as he continued to stare down at him.

Naruto nodded and almost smiled a little bit when he answered, "Yeah, I did, sir."

Ibiki smirked and then he took his hands and he slammed them down on the desk. There was a loud boom, which caused several students to run out with their teammates and cut down the numbers. Hinata twitched and looked worried for her old classmate and crush while she covered her mouth when she almost let out a small scream from the sudden shock. Several rows back, Sakura also looked worried, as the proctor had chosen Naruto as a victim and started to lean in close to the small shinobi.

Naruto looked into Ibiki's face and was a little bit alarmed when the man broke his mental shields and stared him down with dark irises that were filled to their brim with untold experiences and utter darkness. He sweat a little bit but tried his best not to be intimidated or bullied as he sat there in his seat and smelled was he could assume was a little bit of bad breath. Ibiki wanted to scare the oblivious blonde rookie and it looked like he was about to have his wish.

"You aren't scared of the chance to remain a genin forever?" he asked and let loose a little bit of killer intent.

But then Naruto raised his shields one more time and answered the tall man, "I'm not afraid at all, Ibiki-sensei."

"You're not afraid," the scarred man asked, as he felt a little bit insulted, "How come?"

But then the blonde shinobi realized that the man never held him against his will and even made sure to not even touch him. Other than the one older student that was thrown out with force, but that kid had wanted to start a fight and was foolish. Naruto and the others were never even touched as the chunin around them and the tall man in the lead scared them like it was Halloween. The blonde wizard studied Ibiki's face and movements and then came to a small realization.

He answered the tall and terrible man; "You can't even do that to us…"

"What can't I do?" asked Ibiki.

Naruto continued to raise his shields and then told the man in a calm but controlled voice that carried out to the other students that remained in the room, "You can't hurt us… You can't keep someone from improving, or in this case, continue on to the chunin level. It won't work out like that so long as a student has their village Kage and sensei to help them and let them advance if those capable can prove themselves. You hold no rule over them or me with a few careful and selected words and threats. You're not even allowed to hurt us, huh? You know, since this is an exam?"

Ibiki was a little bit more than shocked when Naruto discovered that he was correct.

"I'll accept the question, Ibiki-sensei, even if I have to risk a life being stuck as a genin for all time," he told the man as he sat in his seat and crossed his arms, "It won't matter to me if that's so. Because I will become the Hokage no matter what, even if I have to make it there out of pure stubbornness."

Ibiki was also a little overwhelmed at how the small shinobi was able to resist his threats as well as his killer intent. Most of his victims were scared out of their minds whenever he released his killer-intent.

He then thought as he studied the blonde-haired rookie, '_This kid…He has serious potential to become a chunin…He's reminds me of Anko when she was little or that Iruka she knew back then…_'

Ibiki Morino looked around the room and saw that the preteen's words had reached across the entire room and had cut deep into the hearts and minds of all those who had listened to him. Naruto's had caused a lot of rookies to regain their confidence and lose their doubts about the exams while some of his friends and old classmates smiled or smirked at him.

The tall proctor almost identified Naruto as the leader of the rookies that remained and said, "I will ask one more time… This is a decision that could affect the rest of your life… You can quit now, while there's still a chance…"

Naruto looked at him in the face and decided to announce what he had told his teammates and his sensei months back in the Land of Waves when he wanted to create his own path as a shinobi.

"No," he stated with a clear voice and swore out loud, "I will never go back on my word… that is my nindo… my own shinobi way…"

Ibiki looked around the room and saw that no one else had the cowardice to leave and deduced, '_There are seventy-eight more people left here…That kid sure is brave to have changed everyone's thoughts just like that… It's like he's a natural-born leader…_'

Ibiki looked around and earned nods of approval from the other chunin in the room, which made the end of the first exam official.

"Good call, kid. I will admit that I was impressed with that little statement there… But I have a surprise for you and your followers…"

All the genin in the room held their breath and waited until Ibiki decided to take a breath and announce the outcome.

"All the rookies inside this room… You have all passed the First Exam!"

The room was silent, still, and cold with sweat and shock as the rookie shinobi and kunoichi in the room were frozen at the news. Some of the teens that remained in the room were a little bit scared as Ibiki started to smile at them all like he was a favored uncle as he hid his arms behind his back and announced one more time with a more ecstatic tone in his voice;

"Congratulations!"

"We passed," asked Sakura, "But what about the tenth question?"

Ibiki smiled a little bit more and admitted, "There was no tenth question. Unless someone here counted the decision to ask the question or leave…"

"But what about those other nine grueling questions?" outraged Temari as she almost stood from her seat again, "Don't tell me that those were for nothing, sir!"

Ibiki chuckled at the cross kunoichi and told her, "Your mission this entire time was to test how good you kids were at spying…"

All the rookies in the room were a little bit confused while some were able to understand.

"While on a mission, a team and its members will rise and fall as one. The final question was a test of devotion to teammates as well as a test of leadership. The other purpose of this exam was to see how well a shinobi could do with gathering information while behind enemy lines. That's what a shinobi is sometimes expected to do on certain missions as a chunin. So in order to simulate this situation in a classroom level, I had you rookies forced to cheat in order to obtain the answers to impossible questions. Without having to tell you anything or even hint at the objective."

Naruto smiled as he learned that his previous speculation was correct. And then he felt the telepathic connection between him and his older brother become restored at last and was able to smile as he felt his hands hold his shoulders and almost shake him side to side.

'_**Brilliant job, Naruto! Well done! I knew you could do it!**_'

But then Ibiki started to unfold his headband while he said, "Of course, anyone who was clumsy enough to get caught during this test would not be subjected to being thrown out of a classroom. Had this been an actual mission of information gathering, the consequences would have been a lot more… severe…"

Ibiki removed his bandanna headband and revealed that he had horrific scars that decorated his entire baldhead. There were burn scars, slashing scars, and even puncture wounds that looked a lot like screws. All the genin that saw him without his headband on were unsettled and left a little bit sickened.

"Sometimes, there are circumstances where you are caught during a mission, where you're captured and when you're captured, the enemy will stop at nothing to obtain whatever information they can get out of you. Only those with the strongest will have the courage and loyalty to never give in for the sake of their home village. The foolish mistake of being caught will usually result in what you see has happened to me," the tall man retied his bandanna and turned a little bit more serious and then smiled once more, "Learn this lesson and learn it well. To succeed in a mission such as intelligence gathering, then don't get caught! Be wise and be decisive!"

All of the rookies in the classroom felt a lot more confident with the Second Exam that waited ahead and almost couldn't wait to start soon.

"You kids have survived the first hurdle. The first test of the Chunin Selection Exams is now concluded…" the tall proctor concluded as he wished the students luck on the second test, "I will pray you will fight the good fight!"

Naruto smiled but then he looked out towards the windows on the left side of the classroom and he sensed someone was about to come in. Then out of nowhere, someone had blasted through the window and sent solid shards of broken glass out to litter the floor around the front while several students screamed out and stare as a black blur crashed into the classroom. Several kunai flew and were slammed into the walls and floor to reveal a massive black poster that made a message in white paint:

_**NEWLY ARRIVED SECOND CHIEF EXAMINATION OFFICER: ANKO MITARASHI!**_

The person revealed in front of the poster was a young and very beautiful kunoichi that must have been no older than Iruka. She had light brown, pupil-less irises, had dark-violet hair that was styled in a short, spiky, fanned-ponytail. The woman wore a tan overcoat, which has a pocket on both sides, with a fitted mesh body suit that stretched from her neck down to her thighs. She also wore a dark orange mini-skirt, her headband, and a small pendant that looked like a snake tooth on a thick cord rather than a chain. She also had a wristwatch, shin guards, and a dark blue belt around her waist that connected to her skirt that had an appendage-like sash. She also had large breasts that took the attention from most of the men in the room, while it did not even seem to be noticed from the chunin in the room that smiled and shook their heads at the unknown woman.

She held out her hand to the side and announced, "NONE OF YOU ARE IN A POSITION TO CELEBRATE! I am the second proctor of the Chunin Selection Exams! I am Anko Mitarashi! FOLLOW ME TO THE SECOND EXAM!"

No one other than the other chunin wanted to even move as Ibiki moved around the black wall and asked the woman, "You can't sense the mood in here, Anko?"

Anko sweatdropped and flushed red a little bit out of embarrassment. She looked around the room and counted the number of students there were left that Ibiki didn't scare out. She soon looked a little bit shocked and then she looked ticked.

'_**Whoa... What a woman...**_' a certain wizard commented.

"You let seventy-eight students win this time?" she asked Ibiki, shocked that he had been soft on them, "Ibiki! You went too easy on them."

Ibiki smirked at her, "This time, we have applicants of exceptional talent," he leaned closer to her and whispered to her, "Look at that blonde one in the front row, beside to the kunoichi from the Hyuga clan. He's a brave one. Naruto Uzumaki is his name. He has some serious fire in him. Heh! You would like him!"

"No problem then! I'll be able to cut this number of students in half once I'm done with them," she stated as she clicked her neck and cracked her knuckles.

Several rookies looked at her with a little bit of fear on their faces as some of them wondered what she meant when she told them she would cut their numbers in half. Anko then shivered with excitement, "Ooh! I'm too excited even when I think about it! I'll explain the details of the next exam once we reach our destination. So follow me!"

* * *

Ibiki walked around the classroom and collected the used test sheets once the students and chunin were out. It was sort of a waste since he had to toss all these tests out, but he took some time and saw what students were able to obtain the answers needed while few others were able to write down their own correct answers. Soon, Ibiki obtained Naruto's test and looked it over for a short moment. But then he froze and looked back at the test and studied it. He examined the test and then walked over to his desk and checked it with his original answer sheet and could have fainted when he discovered that Naruto had used him to obtain his own answers, but in the exact-same details as his own handwriting.

"How can this be? None of the other proctor's caught him cheating… That's not possible…"

Ibiki then noticed that there was a note written down on the front of the paper in Naruto's own handwriting.

* * *

_Ibiki Morino-_

_Thanks a lot for the life lesson. Here is something in return: Kabuto Yakushi and the Otogakure genin smell a lot like snakes. I don't know what it means, but I hope you do._

_Sincerely yours, Naruto Uzumaki_

_P.S. I think those scars are so cool! Way to take one of the team! You're diamond!_

* * *

Ibiki had no idea what the child had meant with the scent of the snake, but soon he came with a good idea. He thought of the first thing that popped into his mind, which was a strange and terrible man that he once saw when he was little. It was a man that had once been a respected shinobi of their village. A man that several people, including Ibiki, believed that somehow he was not even human.

The proctor forgot about the other tests and went straight to the Sandaime Hokage as fast as he could. With Naruto's test clenched in his hand.

* * *

To Be Continued…

* * *

**That took some time! Well, it took me a couple of days, but I think it turned out well in the end!**

**Azeroth44: Well! I'm back now!**

**K: Oh! That's nice.**

**AZ44: As for the chapter, it's about the same as the original, but it sounds a lot more reasonable than the previous version. I like this one a lot more. Not to mention, I love the comeback Naruto made to Kiba about the whippets XD That made me laugh!**

**K: Thanks, man.**

**Naruto: Careful. When he compliments, it's means something bad happens.**

**K: What did you do this time, Azeroth44?**

**AZ44: Oh, nothing. I can compliment and good stuff can happen sometimes. See? I'm calm and no one here was hurt.**

**Iruka: (comes back from upstairs and covered with ash) I was just upstairs to wash some kunai and the toilet in the bathroom exploded.**

**(All the people stare down at Azeroth44)**

**AZ44: So? Toilets explode all the time!**

**Iruka: It exploded with fire and volcanic brimstone.**

**AZ44: Oh… Well… Shut up, then.**

**Until we meet again next time in the Forest of Death, readers and friends! But if there are some things wrong with this chapter, I'll make sure to fix them ASAP. But if it looks fine, then it looks fine. Make sure to leave behind a review for me to read! I would appreciate it!**


	5. The Second Exam

"Blah": Talking

'**Blah**': Demon speaking/Inner Sakura

'Blah': Naruto's thoughts/other people's thoughts

'_**Blah**_': Harry talking to Naruto

* * *

**We're back once more and we have some decent action ahead of us this time!**

**But before we start, I should note that I have made some corrections to the previous chapter, in which I have made a small introduction to the Otogakure genin and had them well described like I did with a lot of the other characters mentioned, introduced, or re-introduced in that chapter. I corrected some lines from Ibiki, but I don't think those lines are much different from what I had made for him, so that's about it.**

**Oh! I forgot about this little honorable mention! **

**Congratulations, Goldenfightergirl for figuring out whom my OC from the final chapter of Book 2, Naruto Uzumaki and the Assassin of the Mist, was based on! A thousand apologies for forgetting to mention that in the second chapter of this book like I promised I would ^^' I hope this makes up for it.**

* * *

**Reviews are welcome and wanted!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto,**

**Harry Potter is property of JK Rowling,**

* * *

Chapter 5: The Second Exam

* * *

{{_The Reaping by James Newton Howard_}}

Naruto walked beside his teammates as the three of them marched out of the school and out towards the northeastern trails with the other rookies that survived the first examination. Anko led the students out towards the furthest forests outside the town for what could be assumed was where their next examination would be held. While Naruto followed the excited woman out to the forests with his two teammates distracted with worries and concerns about where the next test would be located, he focused on his link to his older brother. After some time, the two of them discussed what the blonde shinobi had done to his test that concerned the note he left behind.

'_**You told the proctor?**_'

'_Well, it seemed like a smart move at the time._'

'_**How so?**_'

'_He didn't seem to hate me like a lot of other shinobi do. He was a little bit feral, but not hatful. He even had a little bit of a charm to him, it made me think I could trust him a little bit._'

'_**I suppose so…**_'

'_Not to mention, he must have connections to the ANBU if he could scare the others like that. I think he might work with interrogations or something. If not, he could know grandpa and he'll tell him. No matter what, there's no way he'll ignore a message like that and not tell someone about it._'

'_**You think so?**_'

'_I would. You?_'

'_**I suppose it would be hard to ignore.**_'

While Naruto focused on the road ahead and the new environment Anko led him and the others towards, he started to remember the trail and the trees as the crowd arrived in the area located between the middle and outer rim of Konoha's central territories. The blonde shinobi soon realized that the current area was near the same forests where he had created his secret meadow. But Naruto was not concerned that it would be discovered, because the charms he had created around it would have hidden it well, unless someone knew about the location in advance.

Anko then led the students into a vast field until all of them were met with an unbelievable but familiar location. It was the outside of a massive fenced-off forest, the same one that Iruka told Naruto about when the two of them had that little vacation to the beach. But Naruto was a whole lot closer to it than before and now he could see one of the reasons Iruka seemed unnerved with its massive size.

Anko summoned the all rookies around her and showed them all the forest with a wide smile on her face, like she wanted to claim that she owned the woods behind her. The woman studied the children and teens that survived the first test once she could take in all their bewildered faces while a lot of them to shiver and stare. She watched as the faces of the students fell and looked a lot more than concerned once it was realized how dense the forest was and how massive the trees inside the fences were. A lot of the trees were more than seventeen feet in diameter and there were other trees that were more than double the size of those trees mentioned and more that were so massive that it was almost ridiculous; like someone had come in and used a Herbivicus Charm on the trees to make them wider than the diameter of the main hall inside the Administration Building. There were also these massive boulders and thick wild roots and branches that surrounded the massive trees, covered with thick dark-emerald moss while this cold and bizarre mist leaked out from the woods, like some ancient or evil omen. The forest was contained within tall steel fences that had various locks and chains that closed it off from the rest of the world. The steel fences towered over the rookies and made them all feel a whole lot smaller as some of them were at a loss for words.

The exotic woman that had led them all to this wild woodland smirked at the rookies and introduced the new area where the second examination would be taken, "This is the arena for the second exam. Welcome to the restricted Training Ground Number 44. Also known as the Forest of Death!"

Naruto looked a little bit nervous at first as he and his older tried to swallow and take in the dark and treacherous environment as both of them sensed a whole mess of dark forces hidden inside it. There must have been wild animals and all sorts of detrimental entities hidden inside. The older wizard watched the forest from inside the mindscape and studied the woods and almost shivered while his memories of another similar woods came to mind.

'_**Whoa… this woodland here… **__**forget about what I ever said about the Forbidden Forest from Hogwarts, because this place looks a whole lot worse than that…**_'

'_It sure does look dangerous… But I shouldn't let that scare me…_'

'_**I dunno… I can sense a whole lot of weird stuff coming from those woods… the kind of weird stuff that we're both well-experienced with…**_'

'_You don't mean there's something paranormal in there?_'

'_**I don't know… There could be… We've seen phoenixes and made real magical potions in this world… For all we know, there could be unicorns and werewolves in there…**_'

'_If there's a unicorn in those woods, I will find it and then ride on it's back._'

'_**You wouldn't dare.**_'

'_Oh believe me, man. I will do that even if the unicorn kills me in the process. You'll see._'

'_**You're ridiculous sometimes, Naruto.**_'

The blonde shinobi soon smiled as he looked into the Forest of Death, now overcome with excitement that he could discover more supernatural forces here in his world and almost couldn't wait to dive in with his teammates and make some discoveries. He was certain that if the rookies were suppose to fight each other here, then he would be able to conceal himself as well as Sasuke and Sakura so that the three of them could at least be safe and take some time to look around and then finish their exam. But soon, he looked over at his teammates and Sakura looked even more insecure as she held her hands and shivered while she stared into the dark woods.

"That has to be the largest woods I've ever seen," she said.

Anko then chuckled at the students and said with a smirk, "You kids are about to learn first-hand the reason this area has been named the Forest of Death…"

Sakura started to tremble a little bit more, which concerned both Naruto and Sasuke as she started to itch backwards. But then her blonde-haired teammate soon looked over at her and reassured her with a warm smile on his face.

He told her with a clear and relaxed voice, "Relax, Sakura-chan. I'm sure it's not as bad as it sounds. Besides, it could be a bluff for all we know. It sounds a lot like the same stuff Ibiki-sensei tried to scare us with and force us to run when we were back inside the classroom. I'm sure the three of us will be fine."

The callow kunoichi looked over at her teammate and soon felt a whole lot better as he smiled at her but resisted the urge to rest his hand on her shoulder to reassure his teammate. She almost smiled as well, but then Sasuke decided to make a comment on a small issue that started to bother him a small bit.

"Anko-sensei and Ibiki-sensei?" the black-haired shinobi asked his warm but eccentric teammate, "You realize that none of these proctors so far are our teachers, dobe? What's the deal with that?"

Naruto answered him with, "It's a form of respect, Sasuke. You should learn to show some for once… and don't call me dobe. It's not a term of endearment to me, teme."

Sasuke sneered back at his teammate as went back to look at the woods and cross his arms to hide his own intimidation felt towards the darkness of the forest. Naruto smirked while his teammate sulked and went on to reassure his other teammate. He was about to reassure his female teammate one last time when heard his older brother alert him and sensed a blade was thrown and about zoom towards his face.

'_**Watch out, Naruto!**_'

It came from Anko Mitarashi. She must have heard the comment Naruto had made earlier when he tried to comfort his female teammate when he mentioned she could have bluffed like her fellow shinobi Ibiki. She wanted to scare him to be differentiated from Ibiki when she threw a small harmless blade at him. All she wanted to do was cut his cheek and scare the blonde shinobi and test to see if he could handle a little bit of what the forest had in store for him and that was it. But she never had the chance to start her theatrics when Naruto reacted in an instant and caught the kunai in his hand almost without effort. She looked shocked while the small rookie examined the kunai she threw at him and checked to see if she had cut him, which was not the case. All the rookies and even several of the chunin that watched held their breath and stared, as Naruto was oblivious to their sudden amazement and secret admiration towards him. He handled the blade with ease and then handed it back to her while she was still a little bit shocked, but then smirked at him for his skills.

"Your kunai, Anko-sensei," the blonde shinobi said with a casual voice.

This shocked a lot of the rookies that went to school with Naruto Uzumaki. Because none of the other students were aware that he was so well coordinated or had become so ever since their time at school. Naruto was known for his weak vision and for his reaction time to be a little bit slow. But he now showed all his former classmates that his reflexes were almost the same as a normal chunin or even someone a little bit more advanced, like his masked sensei. The black-haired Uchiha that stood close to his teammate started to feel a little bit desirous when Naruto had reacted in time and caught that kunai. It didn't feel normal to see his teammate improve so much in such a short amount of time. He felt he should have been the one that looked more skilled and miles ahead of his teammates. At the same time, others like Kiba, Ino, and Shikamaru stared and wondered how on earth their former classmate was able to hone such remarkable skills with a blade in-between the several short months since school and now. Kiba wondered the most since he was still furious about his earlier confrontation and the attitude Naruto had thrown back at him. Meanwhile, others like Hinata smiled and blushed as Naruto handed back the blade to Anko and checked his cheek one more time in case there was blood, but he came out clean.

Anko nodded and said, "Thanks, kid. It looks like this season will be worth the effort with rookies with skills like that."

Naruto stood close to his teammates when Sakura asked out of concern for him, "Are you alright? How did you do that, Naruto?"

"I trained a lot in the last two weeks," he answered back and almost lied.

After about five minutes, Anko Mitarashi carried out consent forms to all of the rookies and told them with a rather relaxed and humorous voice that made most of them feel nervous or alarmed, "Here, we want all the details covered before the first deaths inside that forest commence. Before we start the test, all the rookies here have to read over this standard consent form and then sign it, because some students might not make out of this forest alive. So we must get your consent for the risks that are involved here. It's made so that that Konoha and the woman in charge here is not held accountable for the deaths of rookies from the other shinobi villages."

Anko chuckled but no one seemed to understand her obscene sense of humor.

"Ok then, tough crowd... Now I'm going to go ahead and explain the rules of these exams as soon as these are handed out and read over," she waited until all the rookies each had a sheet and then she told them more about the exam, "This test is going to require all the survival skills you know in order to succeed…" she waited a little bit and then said, "Now about the terrain… The Forest of Death is bordered in a circular perimeter that consists of forty-four locked entrances. Other than the obvious vast and dense forest inside, there are rivers and a locked tower located ten kilometers from each entrance. It is inside this intense terrain that you will undergo the survival test… This test is a holds-no-bar battle scenario. There are almost no rules that apply while the test is conducted. But it isn't about survival alone. The main mission for all the rookies to follow, will be to obtain these two scrolls…"

Anko withdrew two scrolls from her sleeves and showed them to the rookies. One scroll was black and had the word 'earth' on it, while the other scroll was white and had the word 'heaven' written on it.

"You and your team will fight together to obtain both a Heaven scroll and an Earth scroll… So far there are twenty-six teams here, so that means that half of the teams will have one Heaven scroll, and the other half will have an Earth scroll. In order to succeed in this test and move on to the third and final exam, each team is to obtain both of these scrolls by any means necessary."

Sakura soon understood the math and said, "So that means half of us might fail…"

"That's thirteen teams that can make it out alive, or even less," her blonde-haired teammate added while Sasuke scoffed at Naruto's added comment.

Anko hid her two scrolls back inside her sleeves and said, "That's right. But I should also add that there is a time limit to this test. You will all have five days to finish this exam."

"FIVE DAYS?" cried Ino Yamanaka.

Her teammate Choji looked horrified, "_What are we supposed to do for food?_"

"Just look around the forest," Anko smirked, "There's lots of stuff to eat in there. But there are other things in those woods that are edible that can kill as well. There are also man-eating beasts, poisonous massive insects, and some of the most mysterious and dangerous plants and trees on this earth… I remember this one time; there was this poor kid that was torn into shreds from what his teammates claimed was some wild monster that looked like a tree. It's one of the reasons this area is off-limits… Because there are forces out there in those woods that even some of the most logical shinobi and kunoichi that can't even explain…"

All the rookies stood still as all of them took in their entire situation. No matter what, the teams would be surrounded with enemies. Time would become shorter and more intense as the clock ticked towards the end of their time limit. There would be less time to rest and recover from injuries, mistakes, or even accidents, and sleep would be almost impossible if the rookies wanted to survive, let alone finish their examination.

"So in addition to those who die in attempts to defend or capture a scroll, a lot of rookies are bound to succumb to exhaustion, exposure, starvation, and dehydration…" Anko warned them with an unsuitable smile and blushed a little bit when she continued, "So let's talk about the rules and what offenses can be considered for disentitlement."

She raised one slim finger and said, "The teams that fail to reach the tower within the reasonable time-limit, even if the team has both of the scrolls needed to win, will not advance to the next exam. Even if a teammate dies, those teams will not pass without both the scrolls needed," she raised a second finger and told the rookies, "Under no circumstances can a team be allowed to leave the forest until the end of the time-limit. No recesses and no time-outs are allowed."

All the students had been attentive and nodded their heads as the first two rules were addressed.

"Now for the third rule," she raised one more finger and then told them, "You are forbidden to look into the contents of the scrolls until the team has entered the tower. Is that understood?"

Naruto felt his scar hurt him a little bit as he looked into the forest and decided to ask out of concern, "What happens if we decide to look inside them?"

"That's for the curious cats to find out. You cute little lion," the exotic woman said with a wink as she teased him.

Several males in the crowds behind him snickered at the blonde shinobi when Anko created a new name for Naruto Uzumaki. She must have based on the subtle whisker marks on his cheeks and the obvious lion he had stitched on the back of his survival coat. Not to mention his hair had increased a little bit over the summer and almost made it look like he had a small mane made from his blonde hair. To be honest, Naruto looked a lot like his older brother did back when he was entered in the Triwizard Tournament, back when his hair almost could have reached down and covered his neck.

But as soon as the students were silence, Anko turned a lot more serious than normal.

"When a shinobi or a kunoichi makes it to the chunin level, there will be times where he or she will be entrusted with secret documents and deliver them. So consider this survival test also as a test of trustworthiness and devotion towards the mission and teammates on that mission," she told them as several rookies nodded and then she said, "That's all I can tell about this exam, brats… We'll trade one scroll for three consent forms. Once a team has obtained their scroll, choose whichever entrance there is available. All students will start at the same time once the teams are stationed at the entrances… Oh, and one more bit of advice… Just don't die!"

* * *

{{_The Countdown by James Newton Howard_}}

All of the rookies were allowed a pen and signed their forms without a second's hesitation. Each team then marched to the stands and was entrusted with a white Heaven scroll or black Earth scroll. The students were then escorted to whatever entrances there were available that the other teams had not taken. It took almost an entire hour for all the students to make it to the entrances to the forbidden forest and it took a little bit more time after that to unlock the fenced doors. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had obtained a Heaven scroll and were fortunate with luck and saved their breaths at an entrance that was close to where Anko stood and close to where the three of them had sorted out their individual forms. While there, Sasuke stared at all the other rookies that were close to them and tried to determine the best actions he and his teammates could take against them based on what nation the teams were from. At the same time, Sakura checked her pouch and counted several blades she had left from their last mission while her teammate Naruto stared out into the woods and reviewed whatever spells he knew that he could use on their future enemies behind his teammates backs. He made sure to concentrate and reviewed all the best ones he could cast as he felt his wand hidden inside his sleeve. He felt his heart beat a little bit faster than normal and tried to remain levelheaded as his scar started to burn a little bit and that familiar sense that told him to run or flee started to bother him again. It was weird, because it almost felt like he had developed a new sixth sense.

Once the entrances were unlocked, Anko Mitarashi received the cue from the other chunin that administered the exam and announced to all the rookies with a loud and audacious voice as she clicked a countdown clock that stood beside her, "All right, kids! The countdown has started! Best of luck!"

The fenced-doors allowed the students to enter the forest, but none of them moved until the minute-countdown had run out and the students had less than one hundred and nineteen hours to find their scrolls and locate the tower in the center of the massive arena. The countdown almost sounded like a drum as each second counted down to the start with a distinct and identical boom. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura waited and focused their chakra to their feet so that the three of them would zoom into the darkness while countless other rookies did the same. Some of the other and older rookies looked determined and desired to hunt down their rivals and advance to the next exam. Meanwhile, several other teams looked determined with other missions on their mind as the countdown continued and boom in their ears like war drums.

Back with Naruto and his friends, the countdown had reached the last ten seconds, and their hearts raced inside their chests as the last several seconds boomed. Within the last five seconds, the rookies heard Anko's voice and the countdown had ended with one last loud and distinct boom.

"PART TWO OF THE CHUNIN SELECTION EXAMS HAS NOW BEGUN!"

Naruto and his teammates soared into the forest with determination and chakra that fueled them and a small but subtle sense of cold that almost overwhelmed them at the same time.

* * *

Team 7 zoomed into the dense woods and took in their environment when the sun almost seemed to vanish and the rookies were lost in the dark. The air felt moist almost at once and it started to turn cold as the sun was blocked out. There was that same mist seen from earlier and there were insects that crawled and small animals that slithered in the darkest areas on the earth and inside the moistest cracks of the massive trees that surrounded them. Some of insects were massive, almost the same size as a ramen bowl from Ichiraku Ramen while others were normal-sized and scrambled all around the darkness with swarms. Still, the three memorable genin advanced into the woods and ran so fast that the three of them had turned into colored blurs. The team was determined to finish as soon as the three of them could, so it didn't come as much of a shock as the three of them whizzed over roots and soared across into other trees. Naruto was a little bit ahead of Sasuke and Sakura, but then the dark-haired Uchiha ran out further and led his teammates towards the north as Sakura moved faster than her blonde-haired teammate to match her crush and look like she had trained.

The first several seconds of the exam were intense but uneventful until the three of them heard a loud scream come from out in the distance. With that noise as their first distraction, Naruto and his teammates were oblivious as a kunoichi and two shinobi from Kusa came out of nowhere and were about to collide into each other. Naruto soon noticed, as the kunoichi on the team was about to slam into him when his scar burned less than a second before the team had come out from nowhere. Out of instinct, he withdrew his wand and muttered a charm that would throw the Kusa rookie into another direction, while he would continue on with his teammates.

Naruto muttered under his breath and threw the red-haired kunoichi off course, "_Protego!_"

The blonde shinobi had been slowed down as he and the other kunoichi were almost magnetized towards each other from the use of the charm. But soon, the kunoichi flew out and landed into the darkness between two massive trees while her teammates shouted out and continued to run as the two of them assumed Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura would attack them for their scroll.

"KONOHA-NIN!"

"RUN FOR IT!"

"OUCH! WAIT FOR ME, YOU IDIOTS!"

Naruto and his teammates soon came to a sudden halt and looked over their shoulders for the team the three of them almost slammed into to return and attack them. Naruto stood behind his teammates and slid his wand back into his sleeve, shocked that he had thrown that red-haired kunoichi into the woods without another thought. He could have sworn she wore glasses and her irises were the same color as her vibrant red hair. Naruto soon calmed down as he heard her survive the sudden collision into the woods and ran off to wherever her teammates were as she called out to them and insulted them. Sakura looked so scared from the avoided confrontation while Sasuke looked intense as he waited for the team to return and battle them when he didn't catch what the three of them had shouted out to each other. But while Sasuke would have loved to fight other shinobi from other lands to show his dominance over them, he had to avoid a confrontation, so he ordered his teammates once the three of them waited several moments.

Sakura asked in a panic, "What should we do, Sasuke-kun?"

"We run. Run now," he told both his teammates in an intense voice.

Naruto turned his head back and forth from where the Kusa team had run to back to his teammates that had turned their heads at the Kusa shinobi and ran. He soon came to and followed his friends as he used his chakra to follow them as fast as he could.

"Sasuke-teme! Sakura-chan! WAIT FOR ME!" he shouted out towards them.

* * *

Once he had reached his teammates, the three of them decided to hide out underneath some unearthed roots from a fallen tree that made some suitable cover. The three students moved under the roots and checked for insects and small animals. Once it was cleared out, the three rookies sat down, huddled in small circle, and started to discuss their ideas for their next move.

Sasuke looked to his teammates and told them, "We have to think of a plan to obtain that Earth scroll we need-"

But then the team was distracted when the three of them heard the shrill screams of several other rookies echo out from the trees. It almost sounded inhuman as the three of them heard the voices shriek in terror and then start to moan, almost like the students that had screamed started to suffer until their voices were faint and then there was an unsettled silence as Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura shivered and felt a little bit more cold as their heads turned towards the source of the voices that reached their ears.

"What was that?" the terrified kunoichi asked her teammates.

Naruto considered, "It must be another two teams that found each other…"

"It doesn't sound like there was much of a fight," she answered back to him.

Sasuke then added and then he asked out loud, "Yeah… that sounded a lot worse than a battle… What could have caused someone to scream like that?"

"If it wasn't another team, it could've been the environment…" the blonde shinobi said as his teammates looked at him.

Sasuke asked him, "What?"

"It's like what Anko-sensei said… She told us that this area was closed and there were rumors of monsters in these woods…" he told them and then he shared some of his little wisdom to his teammate, "You know, I remember this one time I read a text book in school about a woods a lot like this one… It must have been the same one when I think about it… This whole forest has been isolated for decades. For all we know, there could be ancient fauna or even dark creatures in these woods that evolved over time and now feed on shinobi or animals that are the same size as a shinobi… Whoever those voices were, that lot must have found some trouble…"

Sakura asked her blonde-haired teammate, "What text book was this, Naruto?"

"I think it was _An Unbiased History of the Hidden Leaf Village_," he said and nodded, as he was about to admit with a sense of humor to break the tension, "I borrowed it once when I was little… But when I use the word _borrowed_-"

Sasuke then insisted, "It doesn't matter. We should move soon to a higher location and then later find some water to drink. If we do that, we could attack another team from above and take their scroll. We can remain in the trees for the whole exam if we have to and move on to a new location closer to the tower and wait for more teams to ambush until we find the scroll we need."

"Yeah," the blonde-haired shinobi nodded but then noted, "But we have to make sure we're careful while underneath the trees in these woods. You remember back in Iruka-aniki's class when he told us about the white-skinned tree-leeches? He told us those leeches are massive enough to suck someone dead in minutes. We should watch out for them while we're in the trees. I remember he said those sick creatures tend to stick to higher locations and then fall down on their victims in swarms and suck their blood."

Both the blonde shinobi's teammates nodded to him and were shocked once more that Naruto had remembered a lesson from their class and used it to their benefit.

"Not a bad idea," nodded the black-haired shinobi as he shivered at the idea of massive leeches snack on his blood, "Not a bad idea at all, Naruto… Now let's move."

* * *

{{_We Could Go Home by James Newton Howard_}}

Sasuke led his teammates as the three of them soared above the trees and waited for an unfortunate team to come around to be attacked. The three students waited and waited but no one came around. There was this one team that did show, but Sasuke held his teammates back and told them not to attack, because the distance was too dramatic and none of them would be able to ambush them all in time and lose the element of surprise. So, the team remained in the trees and waited until another team would arrive but there was no such luck on their side. The three of them heard more shouts and screams from various locations around them, but none of them dared to investigate or be thrown in a battle none of them could come out from unscratched.

After several hours and no active teams came around, Sakura looked over to her crush and shouted over to him, "Sasuke-kun, we should rest for a little bit. It's been hours."

The Uchiha nodded to her and led his teammates down towards another location where the three of them were hidden in between two trees. Once the area had been cleared and Naruto killed several venomous insects under his feet, the team sat down and discussed their next move as the forest started to darken a little bit more than usual, which meant sun had started its descent towards the western horizon over the distant mountains.

Sasuke looked bitter while he admitted, "No luck so far… We'll need to think of another idea to find that scroll…"

"We also need food…" the blonde-haired shinobi mentioned as he touched his stomach, "I'm starved…"

The dark-haired Uchiha then said after he reviewed their current situation, "Ok… I think there's a river close to here. We could find some fish and cook them here to eat."

"Cook them here?" asked Sakura, "Won't a fire let the other shinobi out there know where we are? The smoke from the fire will almost be like a beacon to our location and then the fire itself once it's dark out."

Sasuke mumbled under his breath in irritation and then he said out loud, "Fine then… We'll have to find some shelter to hide the flames, wait until it's dark, and we can eat and rest for several hours and move on. At dawn we'll make a smaller fire, cook some food fast, eat it, and then we'll move to another location as fast as we can before someone can see the smoke…"

"I think that we could do that," commented Naruto, "But we'll have to find some serious shelter to make sure we're not seen at all."

Sakura blushed and then she said, "Nice idea, Sasuke-kun!"

"Then we'll have to move fast," he said after he took in and relish in the comments, "It'll be dark soon. Not to mention, we need to think of how we'll obtain those fish if there are fish in there."

Naruto then reminded him, "And we still have to obtain that Earth scroll."

"Let's concentrate on the food and shelter for now," his dark-haired teammate told both his teammate, "We'll be useless without some nourishment. We have to eat."

* * *

Within seventeen minutes, the trio found the river mentioned earlier and started to fish for their food. Sasuke told Naruto to make some shadow clones and have them dive into the water to blast the fish out of the riverbed when his clones blasted into white smoke. It was an excellent idea and it worked while Sasuke and Sakura used their kunai to obtain the fish that were blasted out of the water and stuck them to the trees across the river. Naruto tried to assist but he missed a fish once or twice and was told to concentrate on his shadow clones. The blonde-haired shinobi mumbled at Sasuke in irritation when he ordered him to focus on his clones, but still did what he needed to do and created more shadow clones.

"Yeah… Yeah… I'll make some shadow clones…"

While Naruto waddled into the water to his ankles and commanded his clones, he felt some weird substances in the river touch his feet and toes. He looked down when some clones blasted more fish into the air and examined a weird waterweed that looked a lot like tentacles stuck inside his shoes. He reached out and removed some of the substance from his toes and could have sworn he knew what it was. But if he was correct then the waterweed he found was not from the world he was born in.

Naruto was about to ask his older brother what it was that he had found when Sasuke shouted at him when he noticed his teammate was distracted.

"Concentrate on the shadow clones, Naruto!" he ordered.

The blonde shinobi returned to earth and slid the familiar substance into a container on his trousers and made the seal to create more shadow clones. All the while, he mumbled unkind comments about his arrogant teammate as he continued to throw him more and more orders.

* * *

Once the team had obtained their food, the trio reached an excellent old hideout located between two massive trees. It almost looked like an abandoned house that was stuck in the middle of the woods that must have been condemned. There were walls that started to deteriorate and there were holes all over the floor that led into an old cellar that must have caved in decades ago. There was still a roof over their heads, but there were holes all over it and would allow the smoke from their fire that could leak out into the air and alert the other rookies of their location, had the trio decided not to cook out at night. With luck on their side, no one would be able to see them with the walls, the trees, and caved-in floor around to cover them and their fire. So the trio decided to create a fire in the center of the old house, down in a ditch in the floor so that the flames wouldn't be seen in the darkness.

It was an hour before dusk, so Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had to work fast and cook their meal to obtain the nourishment needed to survive the night. Sakura received some firewood and made a makeshift fire fan while Sasuke found some rocks to use to contain the fire. At the same time, Naruto found some dirt to dowse the flames with so that there wouldn't be too much smoke once the team decided to extinguish it. It took the team about seven minutes to set the fire and then remove the skin and innards from the fish to eat them.

Once all that hard work had been finished, Sasuke was about to use his chakra to start the fire, when Naruto decided to share a small but brilliant idea so that the team had time to discuss their ideas to find the scroll or even rest for several extra hours.

He told them out loud, "I have an idea!"

"What is it?" the Uchiha asked.

The blonde shinobi then told him and Sakura, "I can create some shadow clones to watch over us while we eat. I'll know at once if we're under attack if I station them outside this house and hide them well. We could take turns so that I can rest and save chakra and then make more clones to watch out for us once I have to watch."

"That's brilliant, Naruto," the kunoichi admitted and could almost kiss her teammate.

Meanwhile, Sasuke nodded and said with a miniscule smile, "Again, that's not a bad idea."

"Next time, tell me I'm brilliant too, Uchiha-teme," he said as he formed the seals and then announced with a muttered voice, "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_"

Five shadow clones came into existence from the familiar blasts of concentrated white smoke and marched outside the abandoned foundations. Naruto's shadow clones were stationed outside while the real Naruto and his friends discussed their ideas and started a small fire. Once the clones were outside, the real Naruto had them work on another idea he had in mind that could aid him and his teammates in the exam. He also wanted one of the clones to set out and investigate the river from earlier when the real Naruto removed the waterweed he had taken and tried to determine what it was for a moment but soon looked back to his teammates and stuffed it back into his trousers as his attention was focus on his friends.

Back outside the house, the clones soon nodded to each other and started to circle the area around the old abandoned hideout and made it turn invisible. The shadow clones went all around the area and waved their wands to create enchantments that would defend against all the shinobi and kunoichi that were left in the exam that could or wanted to attack them. The clones encircled the area and waved their wands to create an invisible barrier that could fend off the animals and shinobi that were out there in the darkness. The shadow clones made it so that not even Anko Mitarashi or even someone like Hiruzen Sarutobi would be able to find Team 7 once Naruto commanded his clones to conceal their location. The clones made sure not to make too much noise and alert the others as the enchantments encircled the area and the hideout started to fade out of existence as well as the rookies that were hidden inside it.

"_Protego Totalum!_"

"_Salvio Hexia!_"

"_Protego Totalum!_"

Once it had been done in about seven minutes, four of the five shadow clones remained inside the invisible barrier while one of them marched outside the line of the unseen barrier. The lone shadow clone marched outside and then looked back to see that the hideout had been erased from existence. He then forced his head back into the dome-like enchanted barrier, blinked, and then noticed that the old foundations were restored with the shadow clones and the rookies hidden behind them with their fire. As soon as the enchantments had been secured, the clone went back outside and watched as the area vanished one more time and was surrounded with darkness. Once he was sure that the team would not be found or the rookies would not be able to hear him, Naruto's fifth shadow clone created another shadow clone and told that clone to search for the Heaven scroll so the team could leave the forest and advance to the next level. As soon as the sixth clone had run, the fifth clone set out into the woods to search for the same river where he had seen that familiar waterweed.

* * *

{{_Booby Trap by James Newton Howard_}}

The fifth shadow clone (the one that set out to check on the river) zoomed towards the same area from earlier and made sure not to be seen as he soared over trees and earth. He ran down close to the forest floor and made sure he avoided bushes and trees so that he wouldn't make loud noises and alert other shinobi teams that he was out and about. He also had to make sure that he was well preserved in order to check out that river and the weeds he had found in it. Otherwise, he would be a wasted shadow clone.

After about ten minutes on the run, the fifth clone was certain he had heard a noise come from his left and ducked down a cliff for cover. The Naruto clone held onto a massive root with his chakra and listened as he heard three sets of feet come out of nowhere and halt about three meters from where the clone would have stood, had he not clenched onto the underside of the root he was now attached to. The clone waited and listened as he heard some frustrated breaths and then listened in on two unfamiliar voices from two shinobi that sounded like the two of them were in their late-teens or a little bit older.

"You're sure those three were around here?" one asked.

The other answered, "Positive. The rookie team from Kusa we sent out to search said the three of them ran into three shinobi from Konoha and one of them was blonde. If that was true, than that team could have and should have run close to this river. With no food or water at the start, those idiots would have stuck around here for shelter. It's a common rookie mistake."

"Yeah, but these rookies are different than the others," the first one stated back at the second voice, "that Uchiha on the team is smart… So the team could have been here but sheltered somewhere else. The Uchiha has some serious intellect and the blonde one can be unpredictable. That's what it said on that card, Kabuto?"

The Naruto clone twitched in shock as he heard the third set of feet walk close to his location and onto the thick root he was attached to underneath. It sounded like the older shinobi from the classroom strut onto the massive five-foot-wide root as he looked out towards the rest of the forest in search of Naruto Uzumaki's team. While the clone heard him come closer, his scar started to burn and that horrid stench from earlier was back and worse than it was back when he first ran into Kabuto and the Otogakure rookies. While the clone endured the smell, he tried his best not to make another noise or even breath, as the clone tried to stick his feet onto the root so that the older rookie that now stood above him couldn't see him. The shadow clone waited and listened as that familiar voice reached his ears and sounded a lot more sinister and serious than he remembered it sounded like back when the rookies were about to take their first exam.

"Yes…" the clone heard him answered back to his teammates, "We should head close to the tower and check the shadows and hollowed trees. We have to find them and locate them soon should the tide turn against us. Our master should have found them now, so it's in our best interest to locate them as well… Besides, I want to talk to little Naruto-kun about that card of mine he ruined… Once he's finished, I can find out all I want to know about him… Corpses are so much easier to extract information from than a live shinobi…"

The shadow clone clenched the root so hard that his hands almost sank into the wooden base he was attached to while he listened to the older rookie when he must have withdrawn his Ninja Info Cards and shuffled them around as his teammates swallowed at the tone in their teammate's voice. Kabuto slid his cards back where he stored them and walked back to his teammates to set out towards the tower out in the distance. The fifth shadow clone looked towards the tower that was now visible underneath the moonlight and then he saw Kabuto soar across the skies and descent into the darkness across the river, closer towards the tower. His teammates on the other hand, stood still and had a short moment to comment on their sadistic teammate.

The first voice told the second one, "Kabuto will kill that kid…"

"No doubt about that," the second voice chuckled in a dark low voice, "No one touches his shit."

As soon as that had been said, the team vanished and the Naruto shadow clone released his hold on the root and fell down into the darkness below. The blonde-haired clone crashed into the river from earlier and was dowsed from head to toe with cold water. The clone held its breath from the crash when it hit a rock and made sure not to make a scene while he swam onto another rock on the shore and sat back to warm his clothes with his wand. As the clone was about to be dried and then warmed, he noticed that his trousers were laced with what he was sure felt like the exact same weed he found further downstream.

The Naruto clone flicked his wand and announced, "_Lumos!_"

He then used the charm and checked the substance after he had it torn clean from his clothes. The shadow clone checked the waterweed and was soon able to familiarize it when he flashed-back to a lesson his older brother had taught him when the two of them studied magical water plants. The weed looked a lot like extended, lime-colored, slick rat-tails mixed into a mass that was similar to ramen noodles. The smell and texture was familiar and it all came back to him as he showed the weeds to his invisible older brother.

'_This can't be what I think it is… Nii-san, take a look at this!_'

Even though it was not the real Naruto Uzumaki that made the telepathic communication to him, Harry was still able to talk back to and communicate with the shadow clone and share his silent shock at what the clone had discovered in the river. The real Naruto was not able to hear their conversation, because the discussion was focused more on the clone. But once the clone was blasted into white smoke, the real blonde shinobi would receive the memories and emotions that that clone had experience, that included the conversation he missed out on as well as what he had listen to in that close call he had with Kabuto and his teammates.

'_**Merlin shoot me dead. I know what that is, it's Gillyweed, one-hundred percent real Gillyweed…**_'

'_This is awesome! I don't believe it!_'

'_**Incredible… It looks to me that this forest is so untouched and isolated from the rest of the world that magical plants and life forms have manifested inside it or evolved into them… The marshes were reasonable to have magical properties, but this forest is out of this world. Once I have a new vessel, I'll come back here and do some research on this forest… We don't have all the time in the world to look around and discover more, so take some Gillyweed and let's head back to the rest of the team before we can attract attention from the other genin. We have to focus on this exam…**_'

'_Ok, I'll head back and take this with me. What should I do if I run into some Venomous Tentacula?_'

'_**I don't think there will be a Venomous Tentacula in here, Naruto… I would be a little bit more interested in that unicorn mentioned earlier.**_'

'_Go ahead and mock me. We'll see who looks foolish when I ride one back home with one._'

'_**You're ridiculous.**_'

The conversation with the older sorcerer and his little brother's shadow clone continued on while the clone searched around when he heard all sorts of noises echo all around him, like the whole world around him inside this massive and wild forest was a alive. The trees almost seemed to move while the moss he walked across was littered with insects and unknown or unseen creatures. When the clone saw one of the massive leeches he had mentioned to his teammates earlier in the exam, he shivered as he saw the creature drain the blood and fluids from a random wild boar as it started to die a slow and cold death. The clone zoomed out of the area as soon as he could before more leeches could fall down on him in mass and extinguish his existence. While he retreated from the area, the Naruto shadow clone heard the swarm fall behind him and wondered how massive the insects in these woods could become, other than the leeches he saw and now avoided.

'_Didn't Anko-sensei mention there were massive insects in these woods?_'

'_**Yeah, she did. Just be sure to remember to use the Incendio Charm to scare some off with fire, or use Arania Exumai to knock them out or kill them. That tends to work on all insects, not on arachnids alone.**_'

'_Ok. Got it. Thanks._'

* * *

{{_Crisis in Asgard by Patrick Doyle + The Cave by James Newton Howard_}}

At the same time the fifth clone ran towards the river, the sixth shadow clone zoomed into a random direction to search for a team to steal a scroll from. Naruto soared across from tree to tree and looked down as he search for a random team. When the shadow clone thought about its mission, he smiled and felt it was for the best. If the real version of him decided to set out on his own and leave behind his teammates, it would have been a suicide mission. So with that idea in mind, the shadow clone remain careless and free as it moved from tree to tree and remained hidden from all the creatures and shinobi that could have seen him had he worn his old tracksuit to the exam. He smiled a little bit more as he soared from another tree and ran some scenarios in his head to obtain the scroll. With his wand in hand, Naruto could succeed in his secret little mission to steal the Earth scroll unnoticed from whatever team he found in the wilderness.

The clone checked the darkest and most desolate areas and locations for hidden teams, but found none of them until he found a curious depression in the earth. He slowed down and remained in the trees as he looked down and saw a hill that lead down into a moss-coated meadow with a willow tree in the middle, surrounded with an inch of water. There were tall and dark trees that surrounded the area as well as bushes that created a circle around the meadow, where Naruto identified three shinobi huddled close to the tree in the middle.

The rookies he had discovered three identical shinobi that must have been in their late or mid-teens. One of the rookies that seemed to be the leader had barbed black hair and dark eyes to match. He and his two teammates wore a similar fair-colored jumpsuit that was stitched in the middle and also wore boot-like zori sandals, a rebreather and a sash around his face with eyeholes cut out. His shorter teammate had similar hair, but his was colored brown. He wore the same clothes as his teammates and had a headband that covered his whole head. This one also had a rebreather and a sash that covered his face. The third shinobi on the team was more or less the same as his teammates, but his hair and most of his face was covered for whatever reasons he had to cover them with. Naruto didn't know whether to feel intimidated or snort at the team for their outfits and their excessive need to mask their faces and use rebreathers, unless the team was in the rain or underwater.

Still, the shadow clone took the situation in a more serious manner when he slid down the tree with the aid of his chakra and landed on the floor without a sound. He looked down into the meadow and realized he would have to move around in order to get close to the team from Amegakure no Sato. The shadow clone remained in the shadows as he withdrew his wand and treated it like a silenced handgun. He remained hidden behind the bushes while the team went on to discuss their ideas on how to obtain a scroll. Naruto assumed if he listened in, the team would reveal which scroll the three of them had and would determine if he should knock them out and take their scroll or even their supplies if his own teammates needed them.

"No luck with the rookie team from Konoha, the one with the kid from the Inuzuka clan was a maniac. That other team from Konoha beat us to them had their blood sucked from those freak-leeches," said the leader.

The one that must have been second-in-command said, "We know that, Oboro. We all saw it. That team with the Inuzuka should reach the tower about now, if not tomorrow. Meanwhile, one-fourth of the teams should be dead or failed the exam about now."

"What if we search the bodies of the teams that didn't make it?" asked the middle rookie, "We could search and see if we can mooch off them."

Oboro answered back, "No. There could be other teams out there that think the same and want to use the bodies as bait. We should rest here for a few hours and work on another idea."

"We could stick around the tower and wait for the teams that are done to show. If we do that and if the team is exhausted, we can eliminate them and take their scrolls," the second-in-command recommended.

Oboro must have smirked underneath his rebreather as he nodded, "That's a brilliant idea, Kagari! We can attack them while those little shits are still vulnerable!"

The sixth Naruto shadow clone took note on all these details and made sure that if his mission didn't succeed, then he would have to knock out those shinobi to ensure his teammates would be safe at the end of the exam. The clone soon crawled down low and remained hidden in the bushes while the Ame team discussed what to do with their first victims in some of the sickest details he had ever heard. It took the shadow clone several minutes to sneak close to the team and was soon at an appropriate distance where he could use his wand and summon the scroll he needed without detection. Naruto waited and soon aimed his wand at the rucksack that was located near the base of the willow tree. He made sure his voice was not too loud and he flicked his wand and annunciated the charm to steal the Earth scroll he assumed was inside.

The shadow clone muttered under his breath, "_Accio Earth scroll!_"

Naruto watched as the rucksack flinched and a black scroll flew out from inside and started to slide towards him as if there were a wire attached to the base. The clone outstretched his hand and snatched the scroll in his hand. He would have shouted out and smiled with success, but was silent as he checked the scroll, but made sure he never unveiled it to check if it was real. The scroll was still sealed and that was more than enough evidence to tell him that it was real. He then tucked the scroll into a zipped pocket and sealed it to make sure it would never fall out once he moved out and headed back towards his teammates. Naruto moved fast and crawled back to where he had come from while he failed to listen to the rookies from Ame and move a little bit faster before he could be seen in the act.

The third unnamed rookie on the team nodded to his teammates and said, "I'm starved. Let me see if we still have some rations left."

"Go ahead, but share some with us, man," said the leader Oboro.

When the third team member searched the rucksack for some food to eat, he noticed that a scroll had been missed. He searched the rucksack and checked to see if he had hidden the Earth scroll under some clothes or the extra rebreather from home, but soon came to the obvious conclusion.

"WE'VE BEEN ROBBED!" he shouted.

Oboro stood on his feet, "What?"

"What the hell is this?" asked Kagari while he fumed.

The third unnamed member of the Ame team would have told his teammates and shown them their rucksack but he looked across the meadow and saw a small rookie with blonde hair scale the hill that led down into their secret little meadow.

The older rookie then shouted, "OVER THERE!"

Naruto looked back for a moment and then moved fast as he heard the leader of the team behind him roar out and storm towards him with the aid of his chakra. The shadow clone was about to stand and run but the leader had a hold on his foot and forced him down as he held him back, about to pull him back down into the meadow and teach him a lesson. Naruto did as his instincts told him to and kicked his restrained foot into the face of the older shinobi. The leader was knocked back while his teammates were a lot slower, but still followed. The blonde-haired shinobi then stood and tried to run and soar back into the trees. He turned around and saw Oboro follow him close and withdraw a weird kunai, which made it obvious he was not from Konoha.

The older rookie then stormed at the blonde-haired wizard and screamed, "GIVE ME BACK THE SCROLL, YOU THIEF!"

In the fraction of a second that it could have taken Oboro to slice Naruto in two, the blonde-haired shinobi used his wand, aimed at the older genin and used a focused version of one of the best spells he could think of to use at the same time Kagari and the other rookie from the meadow arrived to aid their team leader and eliminate the blonde shinobi that had robbed them.

Naruto aimed at Oboro's chest and then shouted out loud, "_Stupefy!_"

A red blast shot out from the wand and slammed the older rookie in the chest so hard, that he flew backwards and crashed into both his teammates. Naruto smiled and watched as all three rookies tumbled back down into their meadow hideout. The leader had doubled over and was knocked out from the moment the blast struck him in the chest. Naruto ran over to the hill and watched as the rookies rolled back down to their abandoned rucksack and slammed into the base of the willow tree that had once aided them as their salvation and cover.

The blonde-haired shadow clone then removed the scroll he had obtained from them and smiled as he inserted it back into his trousers and secured the scroll. He looked down at the rookies one last time as all three of them moaned and were unable to stand or even so much as chase after the smaller rookie that took their scroll.

"So uncivilized…" he commented.

Naruto turned around and was about to leave them be when he heard the two conscious older rookies let out two identical screams of sheer terror.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The alarmed blonde-haired shinobi whirled around and saw that the harmless willow tree that the three Ame rookies had crashed into had come to life. The willow had formed two extensive and thick branches that looked a lot like two muscular arms made of wood and covered with smaller branches and thin narrow leaves that looked like hairs. Naruto watched in horror as the tree thrashed the three shinobi around like a monster in an old movie as the two conscious teens screamed and tried to be release from their wooden confines. The blonde-haired clone covered his mouth in horror and shock as he knew at once what sort of tree this was and even more so, what it was called.

"_A FREAKING WHOMPING WILLOW?_"

'_**I am going to make sure I research this place the moment I have a new vessel to live in…**_'

Naruto watched in shock as the Ame rookies were thrashed and thrown around like a violent child with dolls and hesitated on what to do, as he never learned how to control or immobilize a Whomping Willow. All he had learned about them was that those trees were violent and the best someone could do about them was avoid them at all costs. The blonde-haired shinobi could not even shout or scream as he heard the two of the three shinobi inside the arms of the wooden beast scream and shout. Soon, Naruto was able to talk back to his older brother once the shock over the sight of the tree had vanished.

'_What the hell do I do, Nii-san?_'

'_**Run and don't look back! That tree will kill you if you're too close to it! Move!**_'

'_No, Nii-san! __I can't just leave and let those three get killed! How do I make the tree freeze or release them? Tell what I have to do!_'

'_**Use the Freezing Charm. The incantation is Immobulus. That should do the trick. As soon as that's done; tie them up, run, and don't look back!**_'

Naruto nodded and rushed back down into the meadow as the willow thrashed the three rookies over where its head would be if the tree were a monster from an old classic horror movie. Naruto dashed as fast as he could and avoided several roots when those came to life and started to attack him. The shadow clone avoided some narrow thrashes too as he used all his senses and tried to move around the roots and branches that tried to kill him. He flowed like a leaf in the wind and move so fast that he almost turned into a yellow flash, as his blonde hair was the most visible and vibrant feature about him as he moved. Naruto had reached into the recesses of his physical abilities and avoided attacks that would have been resulted in his death, had it not been a shadow clone that was sent out to find the Earth scroll. Naruto moved around and avoided one last violent branch and he aimed at the base of the tree.

He then cried out, "_Immobulus!_"

The small blonde wizard saw a subtle blue light blast out of his wand and wave over the Whomping Willow as it's movement was halted, like it had been knocked out if it could be considered as a live creature. The blonde-haired shinobi watched as the Ame team's screams started to die down and the tree released them all from their confines. The rookies were rendered unconscious as soon as their bodies had hit the meadow and the braches that could have sliced them all into chunks started to levitate toward the heavens as Naruto moved around the branches and find the unconscious rookies.

He looked down at the Ame team and aimed his wand at them as he encased them with lashes created from the end of his wand, "_Incarcerous!_"

Naruto then moved fast and aimed his wand at the team while the three of them were immobilized like the tree that had tried to kill them. He made sure he aimed at them so that the trio could land far from the tree, but would not aid them more than that.

The blonde-haired shinobi flicked his wand and shouted, "_Depulso!_"

The team from Ame was banished far into the distance and landed somewhere far from the tree outside the meadow. As soon as he was finished, Naruto ran as fast as he could before his charm on the Whomping Willow faded and ran back towards the hill. He would have to move fast, in case he attracted the attention of the other teams or even the ones that wanted to hunt him and his teammates down for whatever reasons.

'_I'm out of here before the Devil's Snare shows up!_'

* * *

{{_Healing Katniss by James Newton Howard_}}

Back at the hidden hideout where the real Naruto and his teammates were hidden, the team had eaten their fill and decided to rest for a while and take turns. Naruto had the first watch and sat down at the front door in the shadows and stared out into the endless darkness while he waited for his two shadow clones to come back from their missions. Sasuke and Sakura were sound asleep in the corner behind an old table while their teammate stared out and tried to wait for those two clones to return.

He waited for about five more minutes and then he saw the clones return, outside the barrier. Naruto waited and watched as the clones reached out and tried to feel for the shields and soon walked into them once re-discovered. The real Naruto ran over to them and smiled with enthusiasm and excitement.

"What was in the river?" he asked the clone.

The fifth shadow clone removed the weeds from his trousers and handed them over to the real Naruto and then it was blasted back into white smoke. Naruto twitched and then the memories of the secret mission were returned to him and he nodded as he inserted the Gillyweed into his weapons pouch with the new shuriken and kunai he had hidden inside. He then turned to the sixth shadow clone and was handed over the black Earth scroll that was obtained from the Ame rookies.

"Here it is," he said and then blasted into white smoke.

Naruto twitched one more time and the memories of the Whomping Willow were transferred into his mind as well as the fear and excitement his clones had felt while inside the forest, had his smile started to fall as he remembered Kabuto and his teammates. The blonde shinobi and his other shadows clones also felt the same and wondered what it was that Kabuto meant when he mentioned his master. He didn't think he meant his sensei, so it made Naruto and his older brother think as to whom the older rookie talked about. Whatever it was that Kabuto intended or whomever he referred to in his conversation with his teammates, it was all the more reason Naruto and Harry felt to be suspicious of the older rookie and make sure to avoid him in the forest. The two wizards would look into this later, but had to concentrate on the exam and make sure to avoid Kabuto if he had the intention to kill Naruto for the destruction of his card from earlier.

So the blonde shinobi soon stored the scroll into his trousers and retreated back into the hideout while his shadow clones returned to their stations. Naruto held onto his wand and tried to think of how he would show his teammates the scroll and then head to the tower and finish their second exam. But he wanted to avoid telling them the details of his missions with his shadow clones or tell them he had taken down another team on his own and discovered several supernatural phenomenon at the same time. His teammates wouldn't believe him if he told them the truth. While the blonde shinobi mused over these matters, he heard one of his teammates come out of the hideout, so he hid his wand into his sleeve and looked over his shoulder.

In the darkness, he saw that it was Sasuke and turned around while his shadow clones remained still in the shadows. The Uchiha nodded over to his teammate and motioned toward the hideout.

He said, "Naruto, I'll take over from here."

"You're sure?" the blonde-haired shinobi asked.

Sasuke nodded his head once more and answered, "Yeah. You need to rest and conserve chakra. I'll take over for about two hours."

"Ok then," he said back as he stood and marched back to the abandoned house.

When the blonde shinobi was about to hide inside the old house, his teammate raised his voice a little bit but refused to look at his teammate, "Naruto…"

"Yeah?" he asked as he turned around.

There was a hesitation and it almost sounded like Sasuke didn't want to admit this when he said, "You did a brilliant job this time…"

"Thanks…" the blonde shinobi smirked and then he retreated into the abandoned house to rest.

* * *

To Be Continued…

* * *

**I'm going to stop here and continue the second exam next time. I think it's for the best if I hold off the second part of the exam and make it a little bit longer than it was in the original fanfic. That whole exam was one chapter long and took place on the first day in the Forest of Death. This time I want Team 7 to be inside the forest longer and be able to have their moments before the preliminaries start.**

**Azeroth44: Oh man… I wanted to see the Orochimaru battle!**

**K: SPOILER ALERT, DUDE!**

**AZ44: Whatever, man. We all know that battle is inevitable.**

**K: You don't see me letting other people know what you're doing in your Doctor Who fanfic!**

**AZ44: Don't bother trying to get to me this time, man. I've updated! The chapter was short this time, but I still posted a chapter!**

**K: You did?**

**AZ44: Yeah.**

**K: Well, I'll be damned.**

**AZ44: Been there.**

**K: Whatever, dude.**

**AZ44: WHATEVER?**

**Ok, I'm going to end this now before Azeroth44 explodes and goes insane like he did in the last version. Be sure to review the chapter if you liked it! As always, it's appreciated! I'll post the next chapter soon! Later!**


	6. Forest of Death

"Blah": Talking

'**Blah**': Demon speaking/Inner Sakura

'Blah': Naruto's thoughts/other people's thoughts

'_**Blah**_': Harry talking to Naruto

* * *

**We're back with second part of the Forest of Death!**

**But first and foremost, I want to apologize sincerely for holding this chapter off for such a ridiculous amount of time. I really am so sorry. I have to admit that the last several months have distracted me from completing this chapter; there was school, finals, Christmas, choosing new classes, getting used to new classes, the massive homework assignments, and to top it all off, my older brother got into a terrible accident on Saint Patrick's Day and was landed in the hospital. He's ok now, he's totally fine, but he was stuck in the hospital for months and it had me (as well as my whole family) worried sick. So much that writing completely slipped my mind. And to make matters worse, as far as writing this new chapter is concerned, I was hit with some serious writer's block.**

**The last several months have been really distracting and stressful…**

**But now I'm back and so is Azeroth44! The two of us have been talking and discussing our ideas about the futures of our stories over the winter and spring break, and we both watched The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (WHICH WAS FREAKIN' AWESOME) and as a bonus, I finished the outlines for Book 3 and more than half of the outlines for Book 4. I made some great scene layouts and twists here and there when Naruto sets out on one of his most dangerous adventures!**

**It still took me some time to get back in the swing of things, but I hope that this chapter is worth the wait because I wanted to make some nice changes to it and make it as entertaining as I possibly can to make up for my extended absence. I hope all of you wonderful, patient friends and readers out there enjoy what I have for you here! :D Sit back, relax, and enjoy this new action-packed chapter!**

* * *

**Reviews are welcome and wanted!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto,**

**Harry Potter is property of JK Rowling,**

* * *

Chapter 6: Forest of Death

* * *

{{_Hermione's Parents/The Silver Doe by Alexandre Desplat_}}

Several hours later, sometime around dawn, Naruto had the last turn as the watch and it was obvious that he had not rested as much as he should have over the night. He had about two or three hours to rest at the most and it showed on his face when it looked like he had slight bruises underneath his eyes and his skin was almost translucent and cold, as if he had lost a lot of blood. The blonde shinobi had smacked his own face several times to cancel out the drowsiness, but it didn't work so much and instead made a distinct red mark on his cheek. Naruto tried his best to remain awake and alert while he looked out for other hostile shinobi teams as he started to break down the invisible barriers that continued to hide their hidden location until the first beams of sunlight burst into the woods and broke into the shield.

While his newest shadow clones stared out into the woods and canceled the translucent barriers at the same time, Naruto searched his supplies and found three bottles filled with Wiggenweld Potion hidden inside and decided to drink one of them. He uncorked the first bottle and swallowed it in one sweet movement. Almost as soon as he had consumed the elixir, he felt like he had rested for more than twelve hours and was wide-awake. The dark bruise-like marks under his eyes vanished while the color in his face was restored. He looked over at his teammates back inside the ruined house and looked back down at the two other bottles that he had left. After a small moment of hesitation, he decided to share them with his teammates but tell them that it was a normal energy drink. Naruto felt that his friends would need to have some in order to restore their stamina and increase their chances of survival.

Naruto soon nodded and smiled as he told his older brother his idea and the man understood and let him do what he must to increase their chances to succeed. Besides, it would be wise to resort to the Wiggenweld Potion instead of make another fire to cook some food and attract the attention of animals and the other rookies.

Back inside the hideout, Sasuke was almost awake and counted his kunai and shuriken and wires. At the same time, his teammate Sakura rolled onto her side and smiled as she blushed and dreamed about her crush, even while she was as cold as stone and in the middle of a rotted old shack. She clenched her shoulders and shivered while she earned her teammate's attention when it sounded like she was awake.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun… I will follow to the end…" he heard Sakura moan as she was still in a dream-like state.

The irritated Uchiha looked over to her and asked in an irritated voice, "What are you talking about?"

Sakura must have heard his voice and came to her senses as she bolted from the floor and remembered she was in the middle of the exam and frozen down to the bone.

"Ok! I'm awake then!" she said as she rubbed her arms and slid her dress down closer to her feet.

At the same time, Naruto walked back into the house and showed his teammates the bottles he had hidden earlier and told them, "Here's some breakfast! I've rationed these for a while. I didn't think we would need them, but here we are in the Forest of Death. So what better time than now to have a drink, eh?"

His teammates were each handed a small bottle filled with the emerald-colored water and were oblivious to the enchanted characteristics or the effects it would have on them once it was consumed. Sakura and Sasuke observed the bottles and tilted their heads at the substance that swished inside, unable to see the faint emerald radiance inside them as the sun shined into their humble and torn-down hole. Sakura wanted to feel revolted or nauseated at the nameless substance, but was curious as to what it was and what it would do to her if she drank it. Sasuke felt the same as his teammate, but he suspected that the substance in the bottle was harmful or some sort of steroid, based on the unusual color.

"What is this?" asked the tired kunoichi.

Sasuke asked as well, "This isn't some random medicine mix drink, is it? Steroids mixed with alcohol?"

"No, it's an energy drink that I found last week in the market," he lied to them and then told them the truth, "It'll serve as food for the next several hours and it should make us feel more awake. It's a little bit like a tasteless coffee. I tried it once, and there are no side-effects from what I can tell."

Sasuke and Sakura both looked down at their bottles and uncorked them. There was some cautious hesitation, but soon both the students held their breaths and drank their share down in milliseconds. Sakura frowned and looked down at the bottle she drank from and tried to determine what it tasted like or what it was made from. Sasuke looked down at his bottle and felt about the same, unsure what the taste was or what he could familiarize it with. Naruto watched them and waited for their faces to become filled with life.

Sakura told both her teammates, "It kinda tastes like… I don't know what that tastes like…"

"You feel more awake now?" her blonde teammate asked her as he started to notice her face and beamed.

It took some time but soon Sakura stood on her feet and was full of life once more as she smiled, "Y-Yeah… I do… That's incredible…"

"That's not bad… At least it works…" said Sasuke as he felt the same effects, so much more alert and wide-awake, "But this better not turn me into the Inevitable Bulk in a few minutes."

Naruto cleared his throat and corrected him, "It's the _Incredible_ _Hulk_, teme."

"Whatever. Now let's head towards the tower," he said as dusted his blue shirt and stood, "If we move now, we can save some time…"

The blonde-haired shinobi shook his head as he re-collected his vials and stored them for later use. Once the team was awake and well enough to set out into the unknown, the team removed all traces of their existence in the area and moved out into the wild.

* * *

The team soon soared across the forest and noticed as the trees became thicker and the moss on the rocks and earth were all sorts of different colors and shades that made Naruto believe some of them were poisonous. He made sure he did not touch the trees and almost all the plants and small animals, such as the several small red toads he noticed and the massive leaves that had dark teeth at the ends. His teammates did the same and continued to travel on foot towards the tower, careful to make sure that no one saw them and remained hidden in the shadows. Sasuke was in the lead and had his teammates follow him down lower, close to the most incredibly massive tree to be seen in the forest. It must have been more than a thousand feet in diameter. The forest was darkest in this area as the sun was blocked with clouds made from the leafs and thick branches that hovered over their heads.

When the team took a break, Sasuke needed some water and Sakura needed time to breathe, so the team took their time to think about their next course of action to take down another team in the woods and obtain their desired scroll.

The Uchiha said, "We should head closer to the tower… Once we're there, we could wait for a team to show and ambush them. But we'll have to remain hidden and make sure to overwhelm them with Naruto's shadow clones."

"That sounds like a brilliant idea, Sasuke-kun!" beamed his female teammate.

While his teammates took their break and discussed their ideas, Naruto watched over the area and felt the Earth scroll that was hidden in his trousers. He had to think of how he could reveal the scroll to his teammates without raising suspicion before Sasuke led them into a dangerous fight with another team. He figured that he could wait for them to run closer to the tower and pretend that he had found a lost scroll, but there was a chance Sasuke wouldn't believe another shinobi would make a mistake like that and Sakura would support Sasuke no matter what he said and demand a real answer out of him, or suspected it was a bait-scroll.

Naruto hid his frustration as he turned towards the forest and tried to think of another idea that could work. In order to ease the stress accumulated from his lack of ideas he decided to comment on the environment and start some small talk with his teammates. With a little luck, an idea could come to him out of nowhere.

The blonde-haired shinobi said as he looked around and heard some wild birds out in the distance, "Man… Look at all these trees… It's so wild in this section of the forest…"

"Yeah…" the Uchiha was distracted for a moment and he too looked around the area, "It's like we're locked inside a whole other moment in time…"

Naruto smiled and chuckled, "Welcome to Jurassic Park…"

"Very funny, Naruto-baka…" their female teammate fumed at her blonde-haired teammate.

The small rookie smiled a little bit at his own sense of humor and continued to wander around the area, careful not to walk too far and make his teammates scold him and alert other rookies of their location. While he wandered around, he took in the smell of the forest and all the sounds heard out in the distance. As he took in the unusual wild scents of the trees and wood, his nostrils became inflamed and swollen when he smelled a familiar chemical and a terrible burn in the air. Naruto felt his forehead twitch in irritation for a moment and then he listened as he heard a subtle sizzle. He looked around for the source of the smell until he noticed the massive branches far above him and his teammates as one of them released smoke from the massive trunk. His older brother enhanced his vision for him for a little bit and then he noticed that the sizzle and smoke came from seventeen paper bombs that were attached to the branches above his team.

He turned almost bloodless as he had less than a second to warn his teammates. He saw the seals become consumed with flames and did all that he could do, which was scream.

"LOOK OUT!"

Naruto shouted as loud as he could. But when Sasuke and Sakura looked above them, it was too late and the bombs went off with a series of loud and forceful blasts. All three rookies were blinded and deafened from the detonations above them. Sasuke and Sakura stumbled for a moment but Naruto fell off the branch from the force of the blasts and he fell down into shadow.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

As the blonde teen fell, so did the enormous branches that once shaded the immense tree. Sasuke and Sakura must have had some serious luck to not be crushed underneath the branches as the two of them stumbled in opposite directions. But when the branches started to slide towards both of them, the two rookies were forced to fall down into the same darkness as their teammate but in different areas. Sakura screamed and Sasuke shouted as the two of them fell into the shadows.

* * *

{{_Incident At Isla Nublar by John Williams/Riddles in the Dark (Film Version) by Howard Shore_}}

Naruto Uzumaki had fallen much further than either one of his teammates. He had hit several roots and tried to hold on for dear life to at least one of them with the aid of his chakra. But with the moisture that was rich in the air and in the roots, he slid downwards and he continued to fall, down, down, down until he hit the earth with a loud thud. He was lost, unseen in the darkness, buried so far down that even someone as skilled in the dark as his silver-haired sensei would have been stuck.

The rookie was knocked out for a short while until he heard his worried older brother's voice call out to him in the dark. It was such a relief to hear him in the dark, that it almost felt like he was there with him, lost as well.

'_**Naruto? Naruto!**_'

'Ohhh… _I'm here… I think I'm ok, Nii-san… I feel sore, but I don't think I'm hurt too bad…_'

'_**Thank heavens… but those blasts, I don't know who set them off, I couldn't see them in time,**_' he said and then he stretched out his senses and said, '_**I don't sense Sasuke or Sakura are close... We must have fallen far to not be able to sense them... This tree is massive. The roots travel far into the earth; I don't know how old this is but the ends of the roots could run for miles…**_'

'_Yeah… I'll think about that more once we're out of here…_'

It was a true miracle he hadn't broken several of his bones when he landed, but it was thanks to several sizable mushrooms that cushioned his fall. Naruto moaned, his torso was sore and he had hit his head hard after he tried to latch onto that one root. When he tried to look around, he realized that he couldn't see more than a foot out ahead of him. While he tried to sit wherever it was where he landed, he noticed the mushrooms with what little he could see and scrambled out of them before one of toadstools released a toxin in case he disturbed them.

'_It's so dark down here… I can't see a thing… I need a light…_'

While he was lost in the dark, Naruto reached back for his wand. But to his dread, he discovered that it wasn't there where he had left it. He held his breath and he turned cold with fear and woe until he heard a small clatter from behind him. The blind wizard turned around, and moved about on all fours in search for his wand. Naruto wandered around the floor and felt around for his wand like a blind idiot. He shuffled in the darkness and noticed, while he wandered, that a lot of his other items had fallen out when he ran into all those roots, which included the treasured stolen Earth scroll. The wizard tried his best to collect all the items he felt he lost, that included the Earth scroll as well as several other items that were not his to start with; such as leaves, smalls bits of branches, dirt, small but harmless clusters of mushrooms he could use later, and even a small black stone he believed was a button that was once stuck in the earth, embedded in an ancient tree root until he stumbled in the darkness.

"C'mon… It has to be here somewhere…" he said as he scurried around.

He took all the items he found and had them stored in his weapons pouch and made sure he fastened it shut so that he wouldn't lose them second time. He continued on and crawled across the floor until he felt the familiar wooden handle on his fingertips and would have cheered had he not been worried if someone had watched him this whole time, the same shinobi that had set off those bombs and landed him here in the first place.

"Yes!" he muttered under his breath as he stood, "I found it!"

Naruto took his wand and used one of the first charms he ever learned that enabled him to see in such untold darkness.

He muttered under his breath, "_Lumos!_"

And the end of his wand lit and revealed the area that the blonde sorcerer had landed. He raised his wand and discovered he had fallen into what looked like a cavern carved out of wood and covered with moss. There were a number of wide crevices scattered above him, no doubt he must have fallen out from one of them and landed in this cavern hidden in the roots. The floor Naruto stood on was a number of thick roots that intertwined so well that it formed a solid floor. The roots he stood on were littered with dirt, moss, small animal skeletons in the corners, and vast mushrooms here and there and in between other roots that formed on the floor and walls.

'_Well look at this, Nii-san…_'

'_**That is a curious and unsettling sight, Naruto… But we better leave now. Whoever set those bombs shouldn't be far… Get out of here, or else we'll look a lot like those animals in the corner…**_'

Naruto held his wand out and wandered around the cavern for another exit. He would have crawled out from the same crevice he fell out from, but there was no doubt that the crevice was blocked off thanks to that massive branch that fell earlier. Not to mention that Naruto didn't know which hole he had fallen out from and didn't know if someone wanted him to come out from a crevice and attack him from the outside.

With no other choice, he had to find another way out.

He wandered around the cavern and started to notice as the roots curved and formed a hill. Naruto followed it, careful not to slide back down to the mushroom chamber, the whole time he continued to hold his wand out and see the end of the hill. He soon started to climb and the hill transformed into a narrow hall made out of more roots and earth. After several minutes, the air started to feel less dense and fresher, which meant that he was close to the outside world.

Determined to leave the cavern and be reunited with his teammates, Naruto walked much faster. But as he continued to march, he felt his forehead burn a little bit and then he felt worrisome or unnerved, as if there was someone with him there in the dark, about to attack him from behind.

He took a moment to wait and catch his breath, and then he heard it as he held his breath; a noise that sounded like a creature that had hatched out from a massive disgusting egg. Naruto froze in the cavern hall and started to turn his head around as he shivered. When he looked behind him, he saw a tall, dark, teen with a rebreather attached to his face that towered over him and was about to stab him in the head with a kunai.

Naruto breathed in and reacted at once as he aimed his wand and screamed, "_STUPEFY!_"

There was a red flash and the man was hit in the chest, but Naruto was shocked to see the man's chest blow out like a chestburster. The blonde shinobi then saw the teen start to mutate and turn into two different men, like some advanced form of a shadow clone that was unable to die, as the two of them formed new arms with kunai out of their ink-like flesh and started to attack. Naruto moved fast and avoided their slashes and stabs. He then aimed his wand at both of them and tried to knock them both out or blast them out of existence.

He screamed two more times, "_STUPEFY! STUPEFY!_"

This time it worked and both the humanoid creatures broke down and turned into what looked like ink or water. But then Naruto saw at least ten more of these freakish creatures start to come out of the walls and run after him. Scared for his life, Naruto was forced to use curses this time and swished his wand like a sword as he stumbled backwards.

He shouted, "_SECTUMSEMPRA!_"

With one horizontal swish, at least five of these ink-like clones were sliced at the waist and started to mutate into more doubles of themselves. Naruto looked on in horror and then heard his brother scream in his ear.

'_**GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!**_'

Naruto dashed as fast as he could and tried to lose the clones that followed him. It wasn't until now that he remembered the face of those clones; he was the unnamed member of the Ame rookie team that he stole the Earth scroll from. Naruto now realized that it was the Ame team that set off those bombs and landed him and his teammates into this dangerous situation. There was no doubt in his mind that Sasuke and Sakura were distracted with the other two members of the Ame team while he was stuck with the one that created these unusual clones that continued to chase after him in the narrow tunnel.

The blonde shinobi had to make it out of the cavern fast and then find his teammates before one of the other Ame rookies found them first.

Within several short moments, Naruto continued to run down the tunnel and the wooden cavern did lead him back outside at the base of the incredible tree. But when he dashed out from in between two narrow roots, he froze where he stood when he was faced with over six-dozen identical clones, a lot like the ones he had faced in the wooden cavern.

"Oh, I am so screwed…" he said as he stared at the ambush that had waited for him.

'_**It looks like someone else has learned how to make shadow clones…**_'

All of the dark, ink-like clones remained still until all of them withdrew kunai and shuriken in one simultaneous motion. Naruto still held onto his wand and was about to dive into the firestorm when all the clones and the real shinobi that created them made one short but stern statement. All of them raised their voices at the same time and enunciated:

"SURRENDER THE SCROLL NOW, OR DIE…"

The blonde-haired shinobi refused to return the scroll he had taken from the team, he stared down at the clones as he clenched his wand and answered, "No…"

Without another second wasted, all of the clones of the lone Ame rookie ran after Naruto like a dark swarm of enormous black insects. Some of them roared and others shouted curse words and battle cries as all of them withdrew their kunai from out of their torsos and bodies like a mass of blob-like humanoid creatures. Naruto felt that sudden short-lived burn on his forehead and then he was overwhelmed with that other sense he sometimes felt in situations like this, a sort of alarm in his brain that told him what to do next or when to dodge the mass of attacks that stormed towards him. Naruto heard his older brother shout at him at the exact-same time and moved like there was another force inside him that willed him to avoid the swarm.

'_**DUCK!**_'

The blonde-haired shinobi shouted and then ducked down and rolled underneath the swarm of rookies, "WHOA!"

Naruto focused his chakra into his feet on instinct and moved as fast as he could to avoid the cloud of kunai and fists that would have otherwise killed him. He ducked down and rolled a number of times and bounced backwards to avoid slashes aimed at his throat and stabs intended for his heart. He felt several blades cut his face and cheeks here and there, but none of his cuts were serious. It was incredible that he was able to remain so unscathed so far, but it was a chore to move around and not be able to land even a single blow. Naruto started to feel more frustrated after about five minutes, until he decided to take a chance and move in to execute one of the clones. He dashed forward, ducked down low in mid-run and drove his fist into the stomach of the first clone he could reach and Naruto smirked.

'_Got him! One down!_'

'_**Hold that thought.**_'

Naruto blinked and then he saw the clone vanish out of thin air when he was convinced that it was solid. It was like it was there but at the same time it wasn't as he crashed into several other clones thanks to his momentum. But when he crashed into the other clones, a lot of them felt the same as the first one he eliminated as he crashed into the base of another tree. All of the clones were solid but not like flesh, as the clones burst and turned into translucent mist.

'_What? What in the world sort of clones are these?_'

'_**Ok… I think we're in trouble…**_'

The blonde-haired shinobi scrambled to his feet and soared backwards into the air to avoid three clones that were about to hold him down and stab him. While he was still in the air, another clone lunged after him. Naruto turned around and sliced the clone with a horizontal thrust. His kunai should have sliced solid flesh, but it felt like there was almost no substance that kissed his blade and the clone turned into mist. This confused Naruto to no end as he started to fall back down to earth. If the clones were an illusion to trick him, then none of them should have been affected even while he was in the cave. Not to mention that none of them should have looked so solid and formidable when he was so close to them.

When his feet hit the forest floor, he twisted and sliced a clone in half and the clone was still affected from his blade but it didn't feel like it was all there.

Frustrated and a little bit worried, he asked out loud, "What in the world are these made from? GENJUTSU OR NINJUTSU?"

Not able to receive an answer from someone, Naruto continued to drive his fists into somewhat solid bodies and sliced into his enemies with both his kunai and his wand. There were flashes, blasts, and ink thrown all across the crowded meadow, but after about five more minutes, Naruto started to slow down. When he rested for a fraction of a second, another clone tried to maim him, but he used a Stunning Spell to blast it into a tree. When the clone was eliminated, Naruto sensed a kunai was thrown at him and was cut across his cheek and nose.

"OUCH!" he shouted, "DAMMIT!"

Naruto went on the move and continued to avoid more attacks and random kunai that came out from nowhere. At the same time, his older brother observed the battle and tried to determine what sort of technique was being used with these unusual clones. He rushed over to his books and searched a section on ninjutsu dedicated to various forms of clones and what moves could be derived from them. After one intense minute, the wizard realized the situation at hand and reached out to his brother while he was cornered with the ambush that refused to rest. Naruto held his kunai and wand like twin swords as he breathed and he listened to his invisible comrade.

'_**Naruto, listen here! All of these clones are not real. It's an illusion. Well, it is an illusion but at the same time it isn't. These clones are somewhat solid but none of them are able to kill with those kunai and shuriken. The blades are a part of the illusion. Well, to be honest the blades and cuts from them are real but not from the kunai that the clones are wielding.**_'

'_MAKE UP YOUR MIND! Are these clones real or not? BECAUSE I CAN STILL HIT THEM!_'

'_**MIND THE VOLUME, MATE! The real… whatever his name is, is hidden somewhere with kunai and shuriken in hand. This genjutsu is designed the wear out the victim while the user attacks from a distance to make sure that the clones seem real. None of them are substantial enough to kill or even harm someone. It's like the clones are made out of somewhat dense water vapor. It's a trick to make the victim think he's surrounded with solid clones. The kunai are made out of a somewhat dense form of water vapor and chakra that is not able to penetrate human skin. It's like stabbing someone with a knife made of butter.**_'

'_What do I do then? Should I let all these clones attack me?_'

'_**No! No matter what, don't do that, Naruto! The real Ame rookie could be blended in with his clones and could be mistaken for one of the fakes. He could attack from anywhere and there's almost no distinction between the clones and the real one.**_'

Naruto took a breath, corrected his posture, and then started to advance towards the crowd of black rookie clones. But he still made sure that he never missed a kunai or a blade that was thrown at him or so much as raised towards him. His brother was wise and he made sure to follow on his advice and never let even one of the clones so much as touch him.

'_Ok, then… So the real rookie is out there somewhere throwing kunai at me… Tell me where the real one is then, Nii-san!_'

'_**I need a little more time, Naruto. It's difficult to find the real shinobi's location with so much interference from the clones. As I said earlier, he must have blended in with the clones and is hidden in plain sight. I have no idea where he is.**_'

'_An answer now would be more than excellent!_'

'_**I have to be sure, Naruto! Hold them off for one minute and I'll have his exact location in no time flat!**_'

Naruto sensed another kunai was thrown at him and did a backwards flip in order to avoid it and heard a loud thud behind him as the blade was embedded in a tree, "That's much easier said than done, Einstein!"

(A/N: I'm not sure if that's how the technique was used in the original manga since it was a little bit inconclusive to me, so I decided to make my own unique twist with this scene and alter how this clone genjutsu works. I also know that this Ame character is named Mubi, but I'll change it sometime later in the future when I have the time to edit in his name.)

* * *

"OWW! OOF! ARGH!"

Sasuke hit several roots and branches while he continued to fall. While it did hurt him, those sudden harsh blows saved him from certain death when he found hold on the last branch and then he fell onto some harmless moss scattered across rocks and earth. When he came to and realized he and his teammates were ambushed, he took in the new area in the woods where the roots were covered with red and brown moss that covered the floor like some unusual carpet. The roots from the trees above him looked like trees themselves, as tall as the dark heavens above. With little time on his hands before whoever had bombed them came down to kill him, Sasuke drew out a kunai and waited for the storm.

He soon activated his Sharingan and scanned the area for even the faintest source of chakra.

Whenever an Uchiha used their bloodline-limit it looked like the whole world had turned much darker as Sasuke tried to locate someone else's chakra based on whatever color he could see, which was often a mixed blue color, like blue flames and a human outline that encased it. He looked all around him until he saw a clear mold of blue chakra in the middle of the darkness. Well aware that it wasn't Sakura or Naruto, he ran towards what he would have mistaken for another root in the dark forest and smacked it with the back of his left hand. The root blasted into white smoke and revealed to be Oboro. The teen wore a new rebreather than the one he wore on his encounter with Naruto, and he had noticeable bruises and cuts all over what could be seen of his face. He stared at Sasuke and withdrew half a dozen kunai.

"You're the one with the scroll! AREN'T YOU?" the older teen shouted, his voice clouded beneath his ridiculous mask, "SURRENDER NOW OR DIE!"

Sasuke went on the offensive almost at once and ran over a dozen handsigns, took in a massive breath, collected his chakra, and then he shouted, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_"

* * *

In another area, far from Sasuke's current location, Sakura started to come to as she looked around and saw that she had fallen between two massive roots and landed on a third one that felt a lot like the wooden floor of her bedroom, but there was dirt and moss scattered all across the base that must have softened her fall and saved her from a broken ankle that she checked to make sure she didn't have.

Once she was sure that she wasn't wounded from the blast or the fall, Sakura looked around and realized that neither one of her teammate could be found. Her bottom was still seated on the root she landed on; she too scared to set out and search for her teammates and decided to wait for them to show themselves. She would have been a lot braver and would have even stood to her feet if her blonde-haired teammate were still around to shield her from harm.

"S-Sasuke-kun… N-Naruto…" she called out in a weak and terrified voice.

Sakura balled her hands into fists and held them close to her face, now much more terrified when no one answered her call. Not even Naruto revealed to be around the corner as she sat there on the root, alone and without someone to hide behind. While she mumbled and waited, Sakura almost screamed when she heard a noise. She heard feet break bark and small sticks before she heard a subtle swish and then a loud thud from above, between the two roots that hid her from sight until now. She looked above and saw another rookie, this one was tall and had his face hidden underneath cloth and a rebreather. Sakura covered her mouth to mask another scream while the older teen above her tilted his head with a wicked smirk stretched across his hidden bruised face.

"Hello there, beautiful…" he said, "You smell nice, like flowers…"

With that said, the teen fell between the roots and landed on his feet. He then started to march towards Sakura with a dark look hidden under his mask while he brandished a kunai he had drawn out.

* * *

Back with Sasuke, he soon clashed kunai with Oboro, the leader of the Ame rookie team. The two genin stared at each other in the face and tried to shove their kunai into the other combatant for several intense moments. Neither one of them seemed to move in the dark root forest, until the two of them bounced backwards off each other. Sasuke was about to dash after while, while Oboro seemed to start to flee from the scene.

"Screw this!" shouted Oboro, "I need more room to breath!"

Oboro tried to set more distance from Sasuke in order to attack from afar and the Uchiha ran after him with kunai in hand. Sasuke was unable to see much in the dark other than Oboro's chakra signature. So he followed after him; he ducked under horizontal roots and bound over slanted roots while he continued to maintain his sights on the Ame rookie leader. But as he traveled further and further into the darkness, the Uchiha failed to notice when Oboro threw several blades at Sasuke but had aimed them at the root he was about to dive under. One of the blades was a kunai with a paper bomb attached to the end and the Uchiha had less than a second to react before the bomb blasted in his face and the force blew him back in a violent manner until his back hit a root and he fell on his knees.

"ARGH!" he had shouted as he held his ears.

He was somewhat deafened from the blast and without his auditoria functions he was forced to look and wait for Oboro to come after him. He was wise to overcome the effects of the bomb to the face and saw the Ame rookie was about to close in on him. Oboro drew out a curved kunai and was about to hold down the Uchiha and force him to surrender the scroll he believed he had with him. But then Sasuke felt one of the blades that had landed beside him, one of the same knives that Oboro had thrown at the root earlier in addition to the kunai with the bomb attached to it.

The Ame rookie leader roared as he closed in on the Uchiha, "LUCKY ME!"

Given no other choice, Sasuke reached for the blade and then he threw it at Oboro and ran after him. The Ame rookie snarled and was forced to deflect the blade with the curved knife in his hand. But when he blinked in the darkness he saw Sasuke's livid face and heard him let out an almost inhuman roar. He then felt Sasuke's kunai slice into his clothes and felt the Uchiha shove the blade into his flesh and bone. Oboro stammered in shock as he looked down, while unable to see much, felt blood run down his torso.

Sasuke then muttered, "No… the luck is all mine…"

With one last forward thrust and kick to the chest, Sasuke threw Oboro and he vanished into the wilderness. The Uchiha deactivated his Sharingan and he never saw or heard from the Ame rookie leader again. He didn't know if the wound he had inflicted could have killed the rookie and he was dead somewhere close to him or that Oboro had vanished and reached his teammates in time for medical assistance if the wound was serious. It was too dark for him to tell where his kunai had stabbed and he didn't think that he wanted to know as he sat down there in the dark and tried to catch his breath.

Sasuke took some time and tried to slow down his breath as he cleaned the sweat from his brow. For some reason, while he recovered from the incident, he wasn't too bothered, concerned, even or stressed out from the clash between him and the other shinobi. So Sasuke decided to move on and find his teammates after he felt that was well-rested to move on. He looked to the branches around him and started to use his chakra focused into his feet to scale the roots and reach the surface.

While he set out to search for his teammates, Sasuke Uchiha never took the time to wonder or realize that his small skirmish was another reason that this area was called the Forest of Death.

* * *

Elsewhere in the forest with the shrill and terrified Sakura Haruno, she stared at the older and taller rookie as he brandished his kunai and made noises with his mouth that were somewhat distorted from the rebreather stuffed in his mouth. While the noises were unclear, the frozen kunoichi could tell what he intended to do as he continued to saunter over to her. The rookie named Kagari reached out and snatched Sakura's arm and started to twist it.

She screamed out as she tried to act brave and frustrated, "GET OFF OF ME, YOU FREAK!"

Sakura broke free of the hold and tried to scramble backwards while the older rookie smirked at her under his rebreather. He chuckled a little bit and but Sakura didn't submit to the rookie that terrorized her. After her outburst, she reached for a kunai and threw it at the older rookie as he loomed over her. The Ame rookie was forced to avoid the blade and stumbled backwards a little. He looked back at the thrown blade and then looked back at Sakura as she trembled and she tried to find another kunai.

Kagari mocked the kunoichi but then his actions were cut short, "Heheheh! Missed me! ARGH!"

It came out of nowhere, but a branch had come out of the shadows above both the rookies and hit Kagari in the head. His rebreather was blasted out of his mouth, he froze in an awkward/comedic stance, and then he fell and landed on his back. Sakura froze on the wooden floor and stared at the rookie even after the avoided incident was over. It turned out that the kunai she had thrown at Kagari had hit a broken branch above the older rookie. When the blade hit the branch, it fell and hit the older rookie so hard that he lost consciousness and wouldn't move thanks to the serious concussion he sustained.

Sakura soon stood and loomed over the genin that had threatened her for all of about one minute. She looked around to make sure none of his teammates were around to attack her as well, and once she was sure that she was safe and the older rookie was unconscious, she kicked him several times and even slammed her foot into his chest to break at least one of his ribs.

She shouted at him, "Take this! CHA!"

* * *

Back with Naruto, he twisted and slashed three clones that surrounded him. While he was in the middle of his twist, he ducked down and knocked down at least two more clones that came in to ambush him as soon as the three clones he eliminated were down. While he ducked down low, he felt that unusual sense almost control his actions and he rolled to his side in time to dodge a kunai that would have otherwise stabbed him in the head. It was almost like he could sense whenever something was about to hit him before it was even thrown at him, like a sixth sense. He used this unnamed sense to his advantage and he was able to avoid all of the real kunai that were thrown at him while he stalled for more time for his older brother to localize this bothersome shinobi.

He continued to twist, turn, and duck around over and over. Naruto was soon exhausted, but he had to continue to move and run around until he heard that familiar voice boom inside his head.

'_**I FOUND HIM! He's transformed into one of the clones and blended in with the others. Over there, on the left, he's the third one in the middle area! Freeze him!**_'

Naruto locked his sights on the middle shinobi, as directed. He saw the assumed clone twitch when he looked at him. The Ame rookie made a mistake and reacted on instinct when he tossed a kunai at Naruto and failed to command one of his clones to move in and mask his movements to remain hidden. The blonde sorcerer ducked in time and then he aimed his wand at the older rookie's chest and forced an incredible amount of magic into his wand.

He then shouted out loud, "_PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!_"

There was a flash and the Ame rookie was blasted off his feet and flung into the air for a short time. There was another blast of white smoke as his black clothes were returned to their normal white and he stood out from the mob he had created. The unnamed rookie shouted and landed on his back. He tried to recover from the blow he sustained but then he started to move in slow motion and then he remained frozen, like a statue in mid-action. As soon as the curse was affective, all of the clones scattered around the meadow froze as well. The black-clothed crowd lost their stable structures and turned back into water or mist.

Naruto stood victorious and relaxed as he tried to catch his breath. He looked around and saw all of the clones were dead and the lone rookie that created the illusion was frozen in between two trees. Naruto checked to make sure he still had his scroll and trinkets before he sauntered over to the rookie that saw him use his secret abilities and made sure to aim at his forehead and ensure his secret would remain well-hidden.

The blonde wizard shouted, "_Stupefy!_"

And with a sudden red flash, the rookie was unconscious and frozen for the next several hours and left some of his most recent memories a bit more clouded than most in his dense mind.

Naruto then said out loud, "That takes care of Bozo over here. Now I need to find Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme."

* * *

As Sasuke crawled out from the crevice he fell into, he searched around the area where he last saw his teammates and tried to sense their chakra signatures. He even used his Sharingan but had no luck as he stood there over the massive branch that would have crushed him and the others as he waited for someone from his team to come around. While he stood there and tried to decide on which direction he should search for his teammates if none of them returned, he heard a loud noise that sounded like a massive wild animal, like a wild bear in the distance.

He turned his head in the direction of the noise and asked out loud, "What the hell was that?"

"AAAAAIIIIIEEEEEEEE!" was the sound of a shrill scream he heard mere moments later.

The Uchiha soon abandoned the tree and set out towards the source of the roar and the scream that followed. He felt a small amount of excitement in his chest as he was drawn to the source of the screams.

'_That must be a kunoichi from another team…_' he then smirked as he dashed towards the source of the noises, '_Sounds to me like someone is about to lose a scroll…_'

* * *

Almost an hour later, Sakura wandered around the wilderness, close to the same area where she was last seen with her teammates. She would have been more active in her search but she was too scared to run, but also too scared to remain still at the risk of another attack. She walked across the woods on her own with her balled hands close to her face in a somewhat defensive manner while she started to shiver and shake. She continued on with her slow walk until she heard several cracks out in the distance and a flock of wild birds that was disturbed and screeched.

Sakura withdrew a kunai when she sensed someone was close. And within several seconds after her senses were inflamed, a familiar blonde-haired shinobi came out of the woods and shocked her almost to death.

Naruto beamed at his female teammate, "Sakura-chan!"

But as the blonde-haired shinobi stood before his teammate, she threw her kunai at him almost without a second thought. Naruto was able to swerve in time, but then the kunoichi attacked him with another kunai. This time, it cut his sleeve a little bit and almost sliced into his shirt and skin. Naruto shouted and then he raised his arms into the air to show that he wasn't armed.

He shouted as he tried to reach out to his scared teammate, "WHOA! IT'S ME! Sakura-chan! IT'S ME!"

"You could be one of the other rookies transformed into Naruto," she said as she rationalized her outlandish actions and held another kunai in her hands like a sword, "Prove it!"

Naruto was at a loss for words, unable to ensure his teammate that he was who he claimed to be, until he remembered one incident in their childhood that he was sure the kunoichi would remember.

He then asked, "You remember that one time when we were in school, I once asked for a rubber? I swear to God that didn't mean that I had asked for a condom-"

"SHUT UP ABOUT THAT STUFF, YOU GIANT PERVERT!" she screamed as she blushed and thrust her blade into the earth in frustration, but then she held her breath and smiled as she ran over to her teammate and almost embraced him, relieved that she wasn't alone, "Oh, Naruto-baka…"

The blonde-haired shinobi let out a breath of relief as well and said, "Good to know that I was missed… And for the record, back then when we were in school, it meant that I had asked for an eraser, Sakura-chan. There was a bit of a language barrier back then…"

"Whatever," she said and then she started to look around the forest and ask, "Where's Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto looked a little bit irritated when his truthful comment was dismissed and then the sudden narrow-minded focus was switched back to his rival. But then he too started to look around, as the two of them were about to embark on short-lived search for their third teammate.

"The teme? I haven't seen him. But he couldn't have fallen far from that same massive tree. He should be somewhere close," he told her with confidence.

But then a voice was heard behind them both as the silhouette of the lone Uchiha heir walked out of the shadows, "I'm over here."

"BLEEDIN' HELL!" shouted Naruto in astonishment.

Sakura was a little bit shocked as well when she retreated behind her blonde teammate, but then she looked around him and stammered, "S-Sasuke-kun?"

For a second, no one moved until the blonde-haired shinobi heard his brother's voice and assured him that the Uchiha in front of them was the real one and not some other rookie that assumed to be him. Besides, it wasn't that difficult to tell that it was real him as he crossed his arms and smirked at both of his teammates when he saw both his teammates almost soar into the air at his sudden reveal.

'_**That's him. It wouldn't be Sasuke Uchiha if he didn't make a dramatic entrance.**_'

Naruto then shouted at his teammate and then he crossed his arms, "You've been in the shadows the whole time! You had us worried there for a second, teme!"

The lone Uchiha used his chakra to bounce his back from the tree as he dusted his hands and knees, even while there was no need to clean them. There were also these unnoticeable but common traits seen here and there that further cemented the confidence that it was the real Sasuke Uchiha and not a fake. No other rookie could have noticed those other subtle characteristics and enacted them on such a detailed level.

"Hrm! I had to make sure it was safe to come out," he told them as he continued to smirk a little bit, "You two could have been fakes for all I knew."

'_**To steal ideas from someone like Sakura Haruno is a new low, even for him…**_'

Sakura felt so relieved that she ran after her crush and embraced him for a short moment and retreated so as not to irritate him too much, "Oh, Sasuke-kun! You're safe! You're safe! You're safe!"

"So…" started Naruto as he was soon sick to his stomach when his female teammate embraced his rival and not him, "Who was it that attacked us, teme?"

The Uchiha answered, "I don't know. It was some random team from Ame. Their leader ran for the hills as soon as I was done with him. Once I came back here, I saw this other red-head rookie from Kusa that this wild bear tried to attack and I scared it off. After I save her life, I checked to see if she had the scroll we needed, but all she had was a Heaven scroll, the same as us. Such a waste of time to save someone's life."

'_**He sure does love to milk a moment for what its worth, doesn't he?**_'

'_You haven't noticed until now, Nii-san?_'

'_**And here I believed Sasuke Uchiha would be different after last night…**_'

Sakura then continued to adore her crush, even while his tale seemed overblown and made much more serious and central than it should have been and she still cheered him on, "Oh, Sasuke-kun, that's still such an incredible tale, Sasuke-kun!"

'_**Please kill me a third time…**_'the older sorcerer commented on Sakura's blind admiration at the Uchiha's admitted failure, and then he smiled as he talked to his little one, '_**You know, I think it's about time to show those two what we found in the woods the other night, Naruto.**_'

The blonde shinobi soon started to smile as he reached down and felt the scroll he had collected hours in advance. He had an account of his own in mind that would no doubt knock his teammates off their feet. With a little luck on his side, Sasuke and Sasuke would even start to realize how valuable and resourceful he was as a teammate and end the harsh nicknames from their time at school and start to treat him as a true member of the team, an equal, as it should have been from the start.

The blonde shinobi smirked and then he revealed the scroll he had hidden for several hours, "Well then, if those idiots from Ame are out of our hair, I don't think the three of them will miss this much."

Both Sasuke and Sakura looked at their teammate and noticed the scroll he held in his hand as he showed it to them and continued to smile wide. The two stubborn teammates both froze almost at once. Sakura held her breath and held her hands close to her mouth while Sasuke looked like a statue with a somewhat bewildered look stuck on his face, as if he were an adult and he realized that someone had stolen his date from under his nose.

"Naruto…" stammered the kunoichi as she too started to smile, "How in the world?"

The brilliant little sorcerer tossed the scroll in the air and caught it in the same hand as he answered, "I stole it. The Ame rookie that attacked me went at me at full force with all these clones. It took me a while but I was able to beat him and I stole this from his rucksack while he was knocked out… How's that for a so-called dobe, teme?"

He then tossed the scroll over to a somewhat dumbstruck Sasuke Uchiha, who had to shake his head to check that he was still awake before he almost let the black scroll slide out of his hands. He almost couldn't talk while he stood there like a zombie with the scroll in his hands, deflated while Sakura turned her attention to her blonde teammate and shook his shoulders out of excitement and even a little affection.

She smiled and shouted at him, "Naruto, that's incredible! No, that's awesome! Well done! So well done! Now we can leave this damned forest and move on to the final exam!"

After several moments of indecision, Sasuke had come out of his zombie-like trance and felt a little more relieved that the worst the exam was now behind them. And now all that the team had to do was make it to the tower and their second examination would be done and over with.

"Uhh… Yeah… Yeah, well done, Naruto… Well done… You found the Earth scroll we needed first…" admitted the somewhat reluctant Uchiha.

But it didn't end there as Naruto decided to take control over the team now that he had won them over, "Well then, I think we should leave now. If we make a break for the tower, we could be inside before midnight."

"Fine with me," said Sakura as she nodded her head and asked her crush, "Sasuke-kun? How about it?"

The Uchiha had a somewhat darker look on his face than usual, but soon he nodded and the look went unnoticed, "Hrm… Fine. We should head down to the tower now. We could use Naruto's shadow clones later as a distraction should we run into trouble."

Soon the blonde-haired shinobi took the lead and soared into the woods with his teammates close behind him. Naruto had never felt so in-control in his life. It exhilarated him while he continued to smile and moved from tree to tree branch with Sakura at his side and Sasuke a little bit behind them both. He would have let out a subtle shout once in a while as he soared, but to his delight Sakura did the same and even let out a small chuckle as she followed her once dim-witted teammate. However, Sasuke was silent almost the whole time ever since the team recovered the scroll the three of them needed in order to finish the exam.

Sakura and Naruto were oblivious to his silence as the two of them ran across the woods and did their best to avoid contact with the other teams that lurked inside the woods. Unknown to either one of his teammates was that Sasuke was unsettled with that fact that his blonde-haired teammate had beaten him to the scroll. He assumed that he would be the one to obtain the scroll the three of them needed to enter the tower, but then his so-called rival beat him to it and stole his moment.

While he dwelled on this matter for a while, it started to infuriate him a little bit more than it did when Naruto started to beat him while the two of them climbed those trees in the Land of Waves. This small loss ate at him like an acid and churned his insides as he dwelled on it more and more. But he made sure that it never showed on his face as he continued onwards towards their destination.

* * *

For the next hour or so, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura continued to run towards the tower and checked to make sure no one used an illusion on them to set the team off the beaten track. But Kakashi Hatake's students still had at least a mile or even two more left. After a while, the team did succumb to exhaustion and Sakura was the first member to force the team to slow down. She rested on a comfortable branch while her two teammates did the same. But Sasuke looked a little bit frustrated with the kunoichi and walked over to her.

He then told her in a rather irritated tone, "Sakura, let's move it."

"Just a moment, Sasuke-kun," she breathed and then drank a little bit from the canteen, "I need some water."

Sasuke was about to reach out and force her to stand on her feet and ordered, "I said let's move it!"

But then Naruto came to the rescue and forced Sasuke to relent as he forced the Uchiha to listen to him. The blonde shinobi also looked exhausted with sweat all over his face, dirt and roses on his cheeks, which showed how tired he was while he addressed his teammate in a forcible but reasonable voice.

"None of us will make it to the tower alive without a break, Sasuke," he said and insisted, "We can afford one minute to rest. Besides, I'm a little bit tired too."

Sasuke scoffed at his teammate with a horrible attitude and said, "Hrm… fine. One minute and that's it."

Naruto rested on a branch and looked at Sasuke as if he had smacked him in the face. At the same time, inside the mindscape, the older wizard looked a little bit worried or concerned as he stretched out his senses. He stretched them out one more time and then he shared his concerns with his little brother.

'_What's the matter with him?_'

'_**Never mind his foul attitude, Naruto… Listen, I didn't think much about this until now, but I think someone has followed our trail ever since we ran into Sakura and Sasuke found us.**_'

'_Is it another team?_'

'_**Yes, but it seems a little bit weird… I can sense them, but their chakra levels are enormous… I don't think I've ever sensed someone with such a massive amount of chakra ever since Sarutobi on the night of the Uchiha massacre… It doesn't feel like it's one of the other rookie teams. And whoever this is this so-called team is, their leader is close behind us…**_'

'_How far is the leader and his team?_'

'_**Far… But it won't take much time for them to be here… You have about ten minutes at the most before the team reaches our location… Get out here fast and get inside that tower.**_'

While Naruto listened to his brother's advice, Sasuke announced the end of their minute-break and Sakura was on her feet almost at once. She stretched out her arms, twisted around a little bit, and then she looked over to both her teammates.

She stated and then asked, "I should last until the final stretch! Sasuke-kun? Naruto?"

"Same here…" said Naruto as he nodded his head and stood beside his allies.

* * *

{{_The Raptor Attack by John Williams_}}

The team traveled further into the woods as the sun started its descent and the woods were a shade darker than usual. Naruto made sure he led his teammates closer to the tower before that other trio his brother sensed arrived. No one on the team seemed to be in the mood to talk and decided to focus on their mission; to reach the tower soon and with little to no distractions. The team did take one more break when the three of them were hidden in a rather massive meadow, where the trees had moss that was dark and oozed over the trees, branches, and rocks like a natural curtain or veil that started to melt over the branches and rocks but was frozen as it melted.

While the team took their short break, the rookies decided to trust both of the scrolls to Sasuke when Sakura admitted that she almost lost their Heaven scroll after she bounced off a tree several minutes earlier thanks to a hole in her weapons holster. As soon as the Uchiha was handed over the documents, Naruto felt his forehead hurt for what felt like the millionth time and felt that unusual sense, the same one that warned him whenever the Ame rookie was about to throw a kunai at him. But this time, it felt so much worse, and felt the need to flee as soon as he could with his teammates.

He rubbed his forehead and wobbled a little bit and moaned as his newest sense overwhelmed him, "Ohhh…Oh, man..."

"Naruto? What is it?" asked Sakura as she noticed her teammate wobble.

The blonde-haired shinobi shook his head and tried to stand tall as he told both of his distracted teammates, "I don't know… But I feel like we need to leave… We have to move fast and-"

"Naruto," she motioned towards her teammate's face and told him, "You're bleeding…"

Sasuke twitched and blinked when he felt a small rock hit the back of his head and started to feel the wind brush his hair. At the same time, Naruto blinked at Sakura and checked his face when he felt a warm substance trickle down his face.

Naruto dabbed his cheek and indeed saw his own blood, "Where in the world did this-"

He never had the chance to finish his sentence as a sudden burst of wind broke out from between the trees. It felt like a hurricane had blasted into the middle of the dark forest and forced him off his feet. He screamed as the wind took him and threw him into the woods while his teammates were forced off their feet but landed in the bushes and latched onto their roots. Sakura screamed and Sasuke shouted as the winds blew their hair back and cut their faces here and there. The two teammates would have continued to shout, but soon the winds died down and the two of them fell to the earth and saw that a new team had arrived and had attacked them.

In the middle of the meadow, there stood three older rookies that heralded from Kusagakure no Sato. The leader was a woman with fair white skin and silk-smooth black hair that ran down her slender back. She wore plain grey garbs with black trousers and a thick purple rope belt tied in a large knot behind her back and silver tomoe-shaped earrings. She also wore a black polo under her clothes and a straw hat that hid most of her face until she decided to remove it. Her teammates wore similar clothes, but one of them wore a demonic mask carved out from white wood and the other wore a straw hat like their leader but did not remove it to hide his face.

The woman in the middle, the leader, threw her hat to the side and said to Sasuke and Sakura as the two crawled back to their feet, "You two can stick around here for a while…"

Sasuke and Sakura recovered from the moment with the hurricane winds and then noticed that their third teammate was gone. Sasuke realized this as well, but did not look around to search for him or even raised his voice and called out to him. Sakura on the other hand looked worried almost at once and looked around the meadow for her blonde-haired teammate to show his face.

She asked with a rare concern for her teammate obvious in her voice, "Naruto? Where is he? Where's Naruto?"

The woman with the black hair answered, "He is very far away from here now. The little blonde child was unfortunate to be thrown into the forest from the jutsu I used… But don't be too alarmed… The friend I left behind with him will take good care of him…"

* * *

Back with Naruto, he had landed on the base of another massive tree. He soon came back down to earth and checked to make sure no random shard of wood or broken shuriken had stabbed him and felt for a moment that it was another miracle he wasn't killed. He moaned as he tried his best to stand and check his new, much darker environment. It was warmer in this area and a little bit moist. For a moment, he wasn't too worried until he heard noises all around him. The trees moved and shuffled around him in a domino-pattern, like some massive creature in the woods rustled in the darkness and encircled him on the other side.

While Naruto was distracted, his scar burned for a moment and that same awful smell from Kabuto and the Oto rookies was soon all around him. He was distracted for a moment, and in that one moment a massive creature revealed itself from the darkness behind him. Naruto would have remained oblivious to it for one more second, but he heard a stick break behind him and that smell became so strong that it made him sick to his stomach. He turned around in a flash and to his shock and horror he saw the most enormous snake he had ever seen in his life. It must have been at least five feet in diameter and more than a hundred feet long. The head of the beast was so massive that more than two or three full-sized men could fit inside its maw. Naruto and his brother noticed there were three distinct tomoe on the crown of its skull that seemed to resemble the Sharingan a little bit, but the tomoe were much more bold and there was no visible iris in the middle.

Naruto screamed, unable to hide his shock as he retreated, "AAAAGH!"

He tried to scramble far from the serpent as it stared down at him and smelled his scent with his sick slime-covered black tongue. With the starved look in the creature's eyes, it meant that it had its sights set on Naruto to be its latest and freshest meal. The creature reeled back and Naruto used his natural reflexes to evade the first attack it made to eat him. The rookie shouted and tried his best to run while he still recovered from the blow he took earlier with the hurricane. When the beast tried to strike him a second time, Naruto was almost hit had it not been for the tree that took the blow and was blasted into bits from the sheer force of the snake's unbelievable bite.

'_Bleedin' hell! __I've never seen a snake like that before!_'

'_**Well, at least it's not a basilisk!**_'

'_Not now, Nii-san!_'

As Naruto was about to turn around and run, the snake tried to bite him one more time, but this time the creature slithered across the forest and started to coil around Naruto. In a flash, the teen was surrounded with scales and warm snakeskin. He shouted in horror and tried to break free from the confines of the beast's incredible body, but the creature soon tightened its hold on the blonde-haired teen so hard that he couldn't move. Naruto tried to breath as he felt the snake start to crush his bones and insides. He soon felt drained and weak and would have held his breathe and screamed as the massive creature released its maw to invite the child into its stomach.

"NO!" the blonde-haired wizard tried to scream without his breath to draw.

And so the snake swallowed him whole. The rookie shinobi slid into total darkness and as soon as he was able to draw breath, he screamed louder than he ever screamed in his life as the muscle walls that surrounded him slid him down farther and farther towards the snake's stomach.

"HARRY! HELP ME! HARRY!" he bellowed.

Naruto tried to scratch the walls around him and kicked around as he drew another breath to scream out loud. But when he breathed in, the foul stench of the inside of the beast filled his sensitive nostrils and lungs. The smell of the inside of the snake was so awful that it caused him to vomit. The smell started to suffocate him and he continued to vomit for several moments each time he drew even the tiniest breath. It was an absolute nightmare that he would not have trouble to remember in the future.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

The blonde-haired shinobi tried to hold his breath and hold back his constant sick when he noticed his skin started to burn, almost like he was dunked into a bowl full of molecular acid. With what little he could see inside the stomach, he noticed one of his fallen kunai started to melt. When he realized he had reached the foul creature's stomach, Naruto started to thrust around and screamed even louder and even cried a little bit as he felt the smile continue to burn and melt his clothes.

"HARRY, HELP ME! WHAT DO I DO? THIS THING IS GOING TO DIGEST ME LIKE IN THE BLOB FROM OUTER SPACE!"

'_**HAVE YOU GONE COMPLETELY MAD?**_ _**ARE YOU A SHINOBI OR NOT, BLONDIE?**_ _**CREATE SHADOW CLONES! LOTS OF THEM! BLOW THIS BASTARD UP LIKE A BALLOON ANIMAL!**_'

Naruto did as he was told to do and drew in one more vomitous breath and screamed, "TAJU: KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!"

* * *

Back outside in the forest, the snake's smooth stomach started to swell. The massive creature continued to bloat with each shadow clone that was created inside it. The snake felt its insides start to burst and its bones break as it continued to swell into an enormous scaled ball. The snake inflated so much and its skin stretched and stretched and then it started to tear as its blood oozed out from the numerous crevices all over its scaled skin. The massive inflated creature had several seconds to realize what had happened to it, but before it could make a noise or even attempt to slither back to its master for assistance, it detonated in a hideous shower of blood and shredded meat with bones.

Snake bones, flesh, slime, and internal organs were blasted in all directions and covered the surfaces of all the trees within the area. It was fortunate that the forest was so dark and moist to start with, otherwise Naruto would have been even more revolted had he been able to see all the innards and blood that surrounded him.

Naruto crawled and stumbled out from the mess, covered with slime, blood, and snake intestines. The blonde shinobi would have vomited one last time but there was no food left in his stomach to heave. Instead, he tried his best not to breathe in the toxic fumes and remove all the slime and blood on his skin and clothes before his skin started to melt. Once he was done and had recovered from the trauma from being eaten alive, he looked around to see he was still in the same area of the forest where he was eaten. He noticed how the trees were blasted out and created a clean trail, like a hole had been drilled into the forest and the earth.

"At least it shouldn't be too hard to find Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan," he said with determination in his voice.

'_**Naruto, I just realized something terrible about all this!**_'

'_What is it?_'

'_**It's obvious that those snakes did not come from this forest; I mean, the size of that last one back there. I also noticed that the snake had three tomoe on its forehead. That mark means that the snake was a summoned animal! Someone that signed an animal contract must have brought them here to this forest to attack us! The same one that I sensed followed us earlier!**_'

'_So what?_'

'_**So who have we read about that has ever been able to summon snakes of that enormous size? What famous shinobi defected from the village over a decade ago has ever been able to do that?**_'

'_You… You don't think that we're facing against…_' the blonde child turned white and then he stormed back to his teammates with his chakra to aid him, "SASUKE! SAKURA-CHAN!"

* * *

Back in the dark meadow, Sasuke and Sakura were forced to bare witness to the woman as she showed them both how sick and sadistic she was before she even moved to attack them.

The woman that revealed to be named Shiore had ordered her teammates to head back to the tower. Once the other two shinobi had vanished and left them all alone, Sasuke demanded that she surrender and leave them before he would be forced to attack her. Shiore smirked at the Uchiha and his teammate, she took her scrolls and shoved them into her mouth and then forced them down her own throat while she lubricated the scrolls with her extensive snake-like tongue. She then lowered her hand down to her face and pulled down her lower left eyelid with her middle finger. She stared at both the rookies with a look that chilled them both down to the bone.

She then said, "Let's have some fun, children…"

Shiore had released a massive wave of killer intent, that was so influential and tremendous, that it made Zabuza Momochi's threats back in their first confrontation with him on their last outdoor mission almost feel insignificant. The wave reached into Sasuke and Sakura's minds and created an actual illusion that forced them to feel whatever it was that the woman intended to do to them. Both rookies felt like shuriken and kunai were sliced all over their bodies and those same blades stabbed them and sliced their skins into ribbons. Their blood flew out from their faces and their limbs and drenched their clothes. It felt like the two of them had been tortured and sliced until it all ended when Shiore threw two kunai and had them stabbed into the center of their foreheads, which would have killed them in an instant. Once the illusion was over, Sasuke vomited and shook with absolute fright. Sakura had tears that rolled down her face, she would have sobbed and blubbered, but she was unable to make even the tiniest noise.

Shiore smiled at them both and then smirked as she taunted her victims with their undeniable fear of death. She watched and waited for at least one of them to move in and attack her, but neither one of them dared to move and continued to shiver, or in Sasuke's case almost urinate in his white shorts but was able to resist. Shiore soon withdrew two kunai and was about to throw them and make the end of the illusion she created a dream come true.

She then said in a sadistic but rather bored voice, "What a shame. I wished our battle would have been more fun than this, Sasuke Uchiha."

But when Shiore launched her kunai at the defenseless rookies, Sasuke took his own blade and thrust it into his thigh to break the illusion and took his female teammate with him. The two rookies retreated into the trees and hid in the shadows while Shiore smirked and watched her little targets move around. Sasuke and Sakura were hidden in the trees above the woman, on a branch far above the meadow. Once Sakura had calmed down some she found her voice and tried to talk to her teammate.

"Sasuke-kun! Please, talk to me-"

Sasuke forced his hand over her mouth to silence her and she watched him look over his shoulder and continue to shiver. She noticed that he was scared and she was terrified to see her idol act like this: so scared but also a little bit excited for whatever reason. Sakura remained silent, but then she turned white when she heard a noise come from above her and saw a snake that was twice the size of an anaconda. She tried to scream to let her teammate know what was about to bite him from behind, but he continued to force her mouth shut so that he could watch out and think. Sakura was then forced to remove his hand from her mouth and screamed, as the snake was about to bite at his black-haired head.

"SASUKE-KUN! SNAAAAAKE!"

Sasuke turned around and saw the beast, no more than five inches from his own face. He reacted on instinct and used his chakra to soar across to the next branch before the snake could recoil and devour him. Sakura stood at the same branch as she watched Sasuke evade the snake. The Uchiha then tossed several kunai and shuriken at the beast's mouth and killed it as the shuriken sliced into its head. The snake fell dead against a large tree trunk and Sasuke and Sakura watched to their horror as Shiore burst out from the snake's side like she had hatched out at the base of the monster's neck and head. She shook her head at the Uchiha and licked the slime and blood that was smothered all over her face.

"For shame; a soldier that let's his guard down… Stay on your toes like a good prey should," Shiore hissed in her snake-like voice, "It makes the chase so much more rewarding for the predator…"

Shiore reacted so fast and was somehow able to twist her torso around the tree she stood close to. She swathed around the tree so fast that it made her look like a snake as she started to slither towards Sasuke so fast that she turned into a dark blur. The red-dressed kunoichi covered her mouth and screamed as she was forced to watch the snake-woman start her attack, determined to execute her beloved Uchiha.

"SASUKE-KUN!"

But before the older kunoichi could use her chakra and attack the frozen Uchiha, several kunai and shuriken came out of nowhere and forced her to halt while she was still swathed around the tree. She looked above in the trees; Sasuke and Sakura looked to the source of the thrown blades and saw blonde hair and somewhat tan skin mixed in the shadows that surrounded them. Naruto Ignotus Uzumaki had arrived with a smirk stretched across his face while he looked down at the snake-woman and the woman frowned at the child that had arrived and ruined her hunt.

"Gomenasai… I'm a little late, friends and mates, but I had to say goodbye to my friend, the giant snake that tried to eat me…" he called down to his teammates.

He had his left hand rested on his waist, while his other arm was stretched out from when he threw those shuriken and kunai at the women. Naruto smirked down at his teammates and the somewhat withdrawn Shiore.

Shocked and relieved to see her teammate was alive and well, Sakura smiled and screamed, "Naruto! YOU'RE OK!"

However, the blonde wizard's male teammate looked more distressed than ever as he clenched his teeth so hard that he almost shattered them. Sasuke continued to shake and sweat while he shouted at his teammate above him and tried to warn him.

"Get the hell out of here, dobe! He outclasses all of us," he shouted, "GET OUT OF HERE!"

Shiore had tilted her head as she stared at the somewhat familiar blonde child. While she was sure that she never seen him once until now in this forest, she could have sworn that somehow she must have known him. It must have been the blonde hair, or his voice, clothes, or the defiant tone in his voice. She soon shook it off as she wondered how in the world the child was able to defeat her summoned animal and the reason it didn't follow him here.

She asked in a curious tone to make sure she wasn't mistaken, "You were able to defeat the snake that I summoned, Naruto-kun?"

"It swallowed me whole, so I used shadow clones and blew it into smithereens," he answered the assumed kunoichi.

Shiore frowned and then her tone looked more serious and dark and so did her tone, "You shouldn't have done that, child… To kill a summoned animal is a serious offense from where I come from."

Naruto stared down at Shiore and didn't believe a word she said. He even noticed that her voice didn't sound that well, like it was somewhat remixed with someone else's voice. It was all he needed to confirm his fears, but the blonde shinobi used his mental shields and his skills as an Occlumens to make sure he was brave for his own sake as well as for his teammates.

"Somehow I doubt that," he said and then he accused, "You're not even from Kusagakure no Sato. You're not even one of the rookies, like us! You're a fraud!"

Sasuke and Sakura looked to their teammate in confusion and then looked back at each other. Meanwhile Shiore continued to frown at him but then she switched moods as her frown turned into a small smile on her smooth face.

"What's this now?" she asked in a somewhat innocent tone.

Naruto continued and told his audience, "Back in school, I remember it now… Back then we learned a little bit about shinobi that could summon animals with their chakra… It's a rare skill that a handful of shinobi and kunoichi from Konoha are able to master… Iruka-sensei told us that there are all sorts of animals that can be summoned but there was one man from Konoha that could ever summon enormous snakes the same size as the one I had to kill earlier… But our teacher mentioned that that man defected from Konoha over a decade ago and became a criminal outlaw. He was a murderer and considered to be absolute scum… You're not from Kusagakure no Sato at all! You're that same man from Konoha that summoned the snakes! You're Orochimaru of the Sannin!"

Sasuke and Sakura both held their breath as the truth was revealed. The two of them were shocked that their teammate remembered another lesson from school. But were a lot more troubled with terror as Shiore hissed at the meddlesome blonde shinobi and a wide smirk started to stretch across her face, unlike the one she used moments earlier.

"Isn't that right, Orochimaru?" asked Naruto.

Shiore then reached to her own face and in a rather sick and twisted manner, she removed the skin from her own face. It turned out that the face she had was a false one that hid the real one underneath, like a molted mask. Underneath this incredible guise revealed the man named Orochimaru. His true form revealed a tall, thin, snake-like man with almost translucent white skin and dark black hair that made his white skin look all the more like the same color as chalk or cleaned bone. He had amber-colored irises that were set around slits also like a snakes. He also had lilac-colored marks around his lids that emphasized his similarities toward snakes. His fingers were all so extensive, like a spider's legs that made his hand movements look all the more unnatural and smooth, like some terrible creature from the dark. Once the man had removed his false-skin, Naruto was overwhelmed with that same abhorrent smell from earlier, the same scent that radiated from Kabuto Yakushi, the rookies from Otogakure no Sato, and the snake that he was forced to kill with his shadow clones. But this time it was so much worse, far worse than rotten meat or the entrails of some massive beast.

'_**That's where that smell must have come from. That Kabuto Yakushi and the rookies from Oto could be related to him somehow…**_'

The older wizard inside his subconscious started to increase the amount of magic that flowed in his brother's veins. A confrontation with this terrorist was now unavoidable and Naruto would need to be as resistant as he needed to be if he wanted to survive. The blonde shinobi could feel his muscles swell a little bit and define him under his clothes like a svelte Roman statue as his shirt felt a little tight around his torso. Naruto stared down at the Sannin revealed and was about to reach down for his wand and focus his chakra into his feet in order to save his friend Sasuke and defend him and Sakura with whatever charms he could think to use with the extra boost he felt.

Naruto muttered in a tone too low for the shinobi and kunoichi below him to hear, "We need to find someone. We'll have to alert Anko-sensei or someone outside the fences at once."

'_**No argument from me, kiddo. But there's a chance the authorities are also in the tower, and that's much closer to our location. If we can outrun the Sannin and block him with some charms and spells, then there's a chance we can all survive from this. But we'll have to move fast and also make sure no one we know sees us use our secret abilities if we can.**_'

Sasuke soon looked torn in between Naruto and Orochimaru. He continued to sweat and he was so scared from the illusion earlier and the fact that one of the most notorious shinobi in recent times was here to kill them caused his skin to turn so white that it looked like the Uchiha almost had no blood left in his face.

Scared and unable to think straight, he reached back and showed the Sannin the two scrolls and shouted, "That does it! I can't take this! Here! Take both our scrolls and leave! Just take them and leave us alone!"

The Uchiha was about to throw the two scrolls at the snake-like man until his teammate Naruto came out from nowhere, nabbed the scrolls in time, and kicked his blacked-haired teammate in the chest so hard that the wind was knocked out of him. The black-haired teen stumbled backwards and almost fell on his back, now much closer to Sakura while she stared in shock, silence, and absolute fear. At the same time, Naruto's scar burned a lot more intense than usual for half a moment and that new sense he now had almost felt like someone screamed in his ear to take his teammates and run. He was so close to Orochimaru, no more than several meters from the most lethal and notorious Konoha shinobi alive.

"YOU MORON! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" the Uchiha screamed at his teammate, "STAY OUT OF THIS!"

Naruto soon shoved his teammate back and shouted at him in a stern, frustrated manner when he witnessed his blatant cowardice, "YOU'RE THE IDIOT, YOU COWARD! What would he do even if we did surrender the scrolls to this maniac? You think he would let us live? HE'S AN OUTLAW AND A MURDERER! On the run! HE CAN'T HAVE ANY WITNESSES TO SAY THAT HE WAS HERE, YOU MORON!"

Orochimaru smiled even more as he showed his teeth, tilted his head like a curious child, and licked the corners of his mouth as he stared at the children.

"Well…" he started as he licked his extensive white canines, "Your little blonde friend here is correct."

Sakura held her breath and covered her mouth with her hands as she stared at the tall man, while Sasuke twitched at the realization and Naruto looked more infuriated as the man started to threaten the live of his teammates.

The tall Sannin chanted and motioned with his hands in a charismatic fashion, "As soon as the time were to come, I would have to kill all the rookies in the forest that so much as looked me… I think I'll start with the black-haired fellow… He looks so delicious…"

Orochimaru hissed as he rolled back his left sleeve and revealed an unusual tattoo on his arm. He then bit his thumb to draw his own blood and smeared it over the tattoo as he started to run several fast handsigns and concentrated an incredible amount of chakra that the rookies could almost taste it. Naruto's face was filled with malice as the air around him became warm with hot mana. While his instincts told him to flee and save his own life above all else, Naruto was filled with the desire and will to follow his childhood heroes from favorite comic books and the heroes from real life. He knew what he had to do in order to defend his teammates, so he ran after the Sannin without another second to waste.

He shouted at the tall-thin Sannin, "OVER MY DEAD BODY!"

"NO! DON'T DO THIS, NARUTO!" the Uchiha screamed and tried to hold back his teammate but he failed.

Naruto shouted at both his teammates as he chose to sacrifice himself to allow them time to leave, "SASUKE! TAKE SAKURA-CHAN AND RUN! I'LL HOLD HIM OFF! GO!"

The blonde shinobi was determined to defend his teammates and hold back Orochimaru to let them flee. He was aware that he stood no chance in a fight with someone like a Sannin, but all he had on mind was to immobilize the criminal while his friends ran to the tower and with a little bit of luck he would also run if he was able to freeze Orochimaru like he did with the Ame rookie. Sasuke and Sakura stared at their teammate but did not leave him as he told them to and stood there in the trees as he ran.

When the blonde dashed after him, Orochimaru had finished his jutsu and annunciated, "_Kuchiyose no Jutsu!_"

Wind started to swirl around the white snake and a cloud of white mist came out from underneath him. There was a blast of white smoke and then a massive snake, more than five times the size of the one that ate Naruto earlier, came out from nowhere beneath the Sannin and crushed the trees and the meadow beneath them. Orochimaru smirked and Naruto blanched when the Sannin commanded the immense creature to strike the blonde shinobi with its incredible tail. The snake did as it was told to do and whacked Naruto so hard that he soared into the air like a cork. The force of the sudden blow sent the blonde shinobi to crash into several dead hollowed trees. Bark, hollow trunks, and branches were blasted into smithereens as Naruto soared into the heavens.

Sakura and even Sasuke cried, "NARUTO!"

As their blonde friend was slammed into a solid tree branch, and the two of them saw him vomit out blood.

For less than a second, Naruto seemed to be stuck to the branch he crashed into, and then he started to fall down like a lifeless doll and he was about to slide into unconsciousness. Inside his subconscious, Harry had to think fast as he saw his brother start his slow descent, unable to move as he looked down at the Sannin on his snake. He knew there was another method he could use that would awaken Naruto and send an adrenaline rush to him that would enable him to continue the battle and even stand on the same level as the Sannin.

He would have to visit the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox and flow it's red chakra into Naruto.

The wizard didn't have much of a choice if he wanted his brother to continue the fight. He didn't want Naruto to have to use the demonic chakra and be influenced, as he knew he hated the sensation and was well aware that it did him a lot of harm. But thanks to the phoenix tears he absorbed back in the Land of Waves, the chakra wouldn't do as much harm as it did the first time he used it and Naruto would be able to heal from the chakra use much more on his own. He would need this chakra to remain conscious and the adrenaline rush and enhanced chakra would enable him to attack the Sannin and even immobilize him if he was careful while he controlled it.

Naruto would hate him for this later, but Harry still marched into the familiar corridor and headed towards the demon's chamber. It took him a little bit of time to reach the door and enter the room and based on how hot the room felt, it meant that the beast was awake and sensed him arrive as his robes swished behind him. The ancient wizard made sure he was shielded as he marched into the chamber and faced the demon as he saw it twist and turn around behind the bars and smirked at the small humanoid.

"**YOU CAME BACK FOR A FIGHT, WEAKLING****?**" asked the beast.

The wizard stared at the monster with no other emotion on his face other than hatred or frustration, "In order for him to survive, he needs that demonic chakra… Let me direct it to him so that he doesn't lose control… It makes sense since I know how this subconscious realm works and use it all the time… Besides its better I do it rather then let some rotten overstuffed beast take him over like the last time…"

"**WHY SHOULD I EVEN LISTEN TO SOME INSIGNIFICANT LITTLE ANT LIKE YOU?**"

"Because if Naruto dies in this battle, both of us will die too…" he threatened and then asked the creature, "You want to lend me a hand now or what?"

The demon let out a breath and the chamber was soon lit with fire as the fox relented and let the wizard take control over some of its incredible chakra, "**AS SOON AS I BREAK FREE OF THIS CAGE, I WILL VERY MUCH ENJOY DEVOURING YOUR SOUL…**"

"Don't count on it, demon-scum…" said the sorcerer as he took control over the chakra and told the ancient beast, "You will never break free from here. Not while I'm still around…"

* * *

Back in the real world, Naruto continued his fall back down towards the meadow and trees, while Orochimaru looked a little bit bored as he watched him fall. Sakura and Sasuke looked on in horror as their friend didn't move and it almost looked like he was about to die. The two of them wait for him to come back to life and rush after the Sannin and show them that he still had that fire in him, but he continued to act like a lifeless doll. Orochimaru raised his hand and motioned to the child in a rather slothful manner as the snake stared at the child with a more interested look.

"Devour him," said the Sannin, "He killed one of the other snakes I sent here… Kill him and avenge the blood stained on his hands…"

Naruto was able to look down and see the snake release its incredible maw and let out that horrid smell from the inside of the other snake in addition to the smell he associated with his snake-sense. As the blonde shinobi descended closer and closer to the creature's mouth, he almost lost consciousness. But then he felt a fire in his chest, a fire not to be mistaken for his determination. He felt his muscles and insides burn and sizzle as the chakra flooded inside him, but this time he felt his insides heal and the burn was not as intense as the first time he ever used it. His irises were soon drained of their natural blue color, and when he blinked, were turned into an intense shade of scarlet.

No more than a second later, Naruto was about to be swallowed a second time until he fell closer towards the snake's crown and slammed his fist down into its snout.

"**EAT THIS!**"

The snake's mouth was forced shut as Naruto's chakra-laced fist sent the creature to fall downward and break several branches and trees that it rested on. Naruto locked eyes with Orochimaru and the two of them stared at each other for a split second that seemed to last for a solid minute.

Orochimaru stared at the blonde shinobi, '_How could that little brat have even…_'

But the Sannin reacted before he and his summoned snake were driven back down to earth. He focused a lot of chakra and threw Naruto back with another wind-based attack. As the enormous snake recovered, the blonde shinobi was knocked into the base of a tree. But then he focused his enhanced demonic chakra into his feet and bounced after Orochimaru like a bullet. Naruto started to bombard the snake with his fists and caused the creature and Orochimaru to stumble back and cause several trees to fall down and crumble into more trees and the earth as well. This continued until the area of the forest was turned into an arena made of crushed branches, trees, and unearthed roots. The snake tried to use its tail to whack Naruto back, but the rookie had bounced off whatever surface he was thrown at and came back at full force, each time with more fierceness and viciousness.

Sakura and Sasuke were forced to watch as their beloved teammate was turned into an animal. The two of them watched, as he turned more feral and inhuman over time; his whisker marks were more black and noticeable, and his nails almost turn into claws as he slashed at the Sannin's snake. But what the two of them noticed that made them start to fear their teammate was that his irises were not blue, and instead turned into a brilliant shade of scarlet. Neither one of them could move as he went all over the area and battled a massive creature that should have killed him earlier.

Sakura worried over her teammate, '_What has happened to Naruto? Where did all that come from?_'

'_Is that even him? All that chakra I can feel from here, it's so intense that it's almost inhuman…_' thought Sasuke as he watched him.

Orochimaru inhaled an incredible breath and then unleashed a fireball that was as intense as the wrath of a furious Common Welsh Green. Naruto was caught in the middle of the hot blast, which made Sasuke and Sakura held their breath. But then the two of them saw their teammate come out from the center of the fireball and dive after Orochimaru. That to the demon chakra, his molecular structure was more dense and made Naruto resistant to most blows as well as the flames as he dove after the white-skinned menace with a kunai in each of his hands.

He screamed as he closed in on the older shinobi, "**YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH!**"

Orochimaru reacted almost at once when he thrust his arm across Naruto's face in an unbelievable backhand. This sent the rookie into the trunk of a tree far across from his teammates. The villainous snake-man smirked as Naruto hit the base of the tree and he slid down towards another branch far below them in the darkness. With the child out of his hair for several vital moments, Orochimaru decided to move in on the other rookies as he noticed the two of them remained still the entire time.

'_Now this will be so much more fun,_' he then commanded his snake summon to slither after Sasuke and Sakura as he shouted in a wild or insane manner, "And now it's Sasuke Uchiha's turn! HOW WILL IT TURN OUT?"

Sasuke remained where he stood, unable to move as he watched the snake slide after him. He was so shocked at his teammate and still froze with fear when death had never been so close to him since the massacre. He was so shaken and felt so weak and defenseless that he almost wanted it all to end and let the snake kill him.

"SASUKE-KUN!"

Sakura screamed as she watched Orochimaru set off at Sasuke. But then Naruto came out from nowhere and stood in front of the Sannin's snake. He then turned around and drove the two kunai in his hands into the snout of the incredible beast. Naruto's demon-induced strength held the snake back and caused Sasuke to come out of his coma of fear and blink when he saw his blonde teammate hold back the creature, like he was some other shinobi from an old folk tale. practically squeeze out a brick in surprise. Naruto's tilted his head and hid his face from view as he tried to catch his breath and continue to hold back the snake.

He soon raised his head and forced a smirk on his face as he asked, "**You're not hurt are you, scaredy-cat?**"

Sasuke blinked a second time and he flashed back to when he said the exact same words to Naruto back on their last serious mission to the Land of Waves. Those words echoed in his mind over and over while he stared at the blonde shinobi with a more shocked look on his face.

"Naruto…" he breathed.

Whatever it was that Sasuke was about to utter next was never heard. Orochimaru decided to examine this tenacious foe a little bit closer once he had an idea who or what he was. He outstretched his extensive tongue to a ridiculous level and somehow was able to surround Naruto's thin torso and raised him into the air and closer to him to be examined. The feral blonde shinobi thrashed around and snarled like an animal as the demon inside him started to take more and more control over him, while Orochimaru stared at the wild child face-to-face.

Naruto shouted as he thrashed and kicked, "**Get off of me! GERROFF ME! GERROFF! GERROFF! GERROFF!**"

The Sannin observed the child and used excessive force to submit the child and hold him still for at least one moment. Orochimaru looked into his scarlet eyes and watched as he blinked and the rookie's pupils turned into slits. He then thrashed around in a much more violent manner than before and almost broke free of his confines. At that observation and when Orochimaru sensed as more chakra was released from within the child, the Sannin smirked as he deduced who the child was and how he was able to overwhelm him.

'_So this child is the Yondaime Hokage's final heroic act… Naruto is the human container of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox… the jinchuuriki of Konohagakure no Sato…_' the white-skinned Sannin continued to smile as he stared down at the wild child, '_This is rich… it seems that whenever he is in mortal peril or whenever he is consumed with raw emotion and loses control, a bit of the demon's chakra is released and he can use it as he sees fit… But it looks like he doesn't like it too much… He must not have used it that often if that's the case…_'

He then took several facts into account based on his secret observation of the rookie team. He deduced that the blonde rookie valued his teammates and there was a chance that Sasuke valued his teammates as well. If that were the case, then Orochimaru felt there would be a little bit of trouble and he would have to fix later. He soon raised Naruto a little more and lifted his shirt were he found the tattoo seal

'_And here it is. The seal that contains the monster within him… It looks like a tattoo on his bare skin…_'

Orochimaru hid his right hand behind his back and focused an incredible amount of chakra into his fingertips. He focused it so well that each of his fingers began to form a separate kanji for each main element. He reeled his arm back and then he thrust his hand into Naruto's stomach tattoo. The thrust caused Naruto to let out a silenced scream as the wind was knocked clean out of him.

It hurt so much and Orochimaru concentrated his chakra so well that it started to alter the seal that contained the beast. Inside his subconscious, as Harry tried his best to contain the demonic chakra he was taken by surprise when the chakra retreated back in between the bars as the beast roared and retreated back. Then out of nowhere, the wizard was thrown back like there was an invisible wall that blocked him. And then the sorcerer was thrown off his feet and soared backwards until he was thrown back outside the chamber and into the infinite mindscape corridor. He looked at the door into the demon's chamber and watched as the door lost all definition other than its outline on the wall and a new seal with five marks flashed for a moment and then vanished.

The wizard tried to touch the door and force it to reveal itself, but when he touched the smooth surface it electrocuted him and those same marks were seen on the door each time he tried to touch it.

Harry soon returned to his own chamber and watched as Naruto was materialized inside the bed, unconscious even inside his own subconscious. The older sorcerer's heart started to race and sweat beat down his forehead. Neither one of Naruto's teammates stood a chance with Orochimaru. And at this rate, all of them would be dead in a matter of moments. The sorcerer was then forced to make a difficult decision that even he wasn't sure would work. He checked to make sure Naruto's vitals were stable and even had time to tuck him into bed. He then stood over the bed and marched towards the center of the room and struck his hands together.

The air around him started to waver and then he flooded the entire subconscious realm with his own magical energies and then he vanished out of thin air.

* * *

{{_An Ideal of Hope by Hans Zimmer_}}

Orochimaru was about to toss Naruto to the side and let him fall to the earth, skewered. But then the blonde-haired child came back to life all the sudden. He reached out and clenched the Sannin's extensive tongue with so much force that it caused the snake-man to wince. Orochimaru blinked and then felt a hot, acid-like burn channel into him from the touch. It intensified and continued to burn until it was unbearable. Orochimaru was forced to release the child from his hold and he recoiled backward on the head of his massive snake. He then looked shocked and almost lost with words when he saw Naruto hover in the air as the child awoke and stared down at him.

"What the…"

When he looked into his face, the Sannin was shocked to see that the color of his irises had switched one more time. This time, his irises were not blue or crimson-red, but this time were green like twin emeralds. Orochimaru stammered in confusion at Naruto's new irises, and it seemed that whatever it was that caused him to burn Naruto seemed to be embodied with it as he hovered for a short moment and landed his feet on the snake as well.

"_**You hurt Naruto…**_"

Those words came out of the child's mouth, but it was not Naruto Uzumaki's voice. Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other with mixed looks as their teammate sounded much, much older and his accent was even more accented. All of them were oblivious, but it seemed that Harry had taken control over his brother's consciousness. He radiated with magical energies that both the shinobi and one kunoichi could sense as he stared down at the Sannin that defiled the seal on his stomach.

"You should be unconscious…" stated the Sannin and then demanded in a low voice, "What in the world is this all about?"

"_**Oh, there's no need to be concerned about who I am, Orochimaru. **__**But allow me to return the favor for the damage done to the seal.**_"

Harry reached down and withdrew his brother's wand and aimed it at the Sannin. Without an incantation uttered, the sorcerer in control created an incredible white flash that almost blinded the other rookies that watched and Orochimaru was sent backwards into the air. His massive snake was left abandoned without a master as the Sannin crashed into a branch above the scene. The sorcerer then moved almost as fast as a shinobi and stood across from the criminal on another branch. The Sannin stared at the rookie as he noticed the wand in his hand and was distracted as the child's smile stretched across his face. The sorcerer almost bowed to the shinobi based on the traditions of a wizard's duel and he muttered one last sentence before he attacked.

He said as he smiled, "_**Excuse me, but it's been a while since I've had a decent fight. But this should still be fun for me.**_"

The wizard made two horizontal slashes in the air with the wand in his hand and then he aimed the end at Orochimaru. There was a sudden red flash this time and Orochimaru's skin and clothes burst into flames. The Sannin screamed and would have run to whisk out the flames in a dash but then the wizard that lit him on fire launched after him and tackled him down so that the two of them fell. Both combatants landed on another branch and the wizard slammed Orochimaru in the face with his left fist. He then soared backwards and used another curse that hit the Sannin in the stomach. The man doubled over as the wind was knocked out of him and felt the blow to his stomach cause the same burns he suffered from moments earlier. The sorcerer landed on another branch across from the Sannin and smirked at him while he watched him wince and double over.

"What… What in the world is this?" he hissed.

The wizard smirked as he answered the criminal; "_**I like to call it magic. But let's not waste time with our background stories, scum.**_"

The sorcerer noticed the flames on Orochimaru's clothes went out and then he heard the villain's servant slither towards him almost as fast as a shinobi. The beast tore down more branches and trees as it tried to assist its master and kill the lone sorcerer. But then the wizard smirked at the massive snake and he stared down at the creature as he aimed his wand at it and hissed at it not as a Parselmouth this time.

"_Leave us alone or meet the same end as the last snake that attacked me… Your choice..._"

The snake heard the wizard and froze moments before it would have otherwise killed the sorcerer. It had never heard a human talk in such a voice and felt it had no other choice but to listen. Almost as soon as the creature understood what the wizard had warned him about, the beast slithered backwards and then it blasted into white smoke as it fled the scene. Orochimaru was shocked and furious as his summoned animal listened to whatever the sorcerer told him and abandoned him in the forest.

"YOU SLITHERING COWARD!" he shouted.

Orochimaru retaliated almost at once and created a massive force like a hurricane that would have sliced the controlled rookie shinobi into ribbons. The sorcerer made it look like the Sannin had blasted him and retreated back down to Sasuke and Sakura. The kunoichi tried to force her crush to move while he stared at the battle above them, unable to move until their teammate came out of nowhere and commanded them with a stern voice.

"_**Sakura! Take the scrolls and take Sasuke to the tower! That's an order! **__**Is that understood?**_"

All she did was stare at her teammate for a moment and then Sakura soon nodded. The wizard vanished as the Sannin was soon about to unleash another series of small hurricane winds. Sakura tried to force Sasuke to come with her, but he still refused to move, as he wanted to watch the battle that ensued above them.

"Sasuke-kun! We have to leave! C'mon! Sasuke-kun!" she shouted.

But instead he answered, "No… I have to see this…"

The sorcerer avoided several blasts of wind like curses as he ducked, twisted, and vanished with a loud crack. But soon he dashed after Orochimaru while he needed a second to breathe. But soon the shinobi criminal took in the breath he needed and unleashed another wind-based attack that would have sent the wizard across the forest. But he was clever and aimed his wand at the same time the shinobi unleashed the hurricane winds.

"_**PROTEGO MAXIMA!**_"

The winds were held back as a translucent bluish-white shield came into existence at the end of the wizard's borrowed wand and stretched out in order to contain the winds Orochimaru unleashed from his mouth. The Sannin was dumbstruck for a moment and then he had less than a second to think before he was blasted off his feet and into the base of another tree in the area. Orochimaru seethed and steam almost rolled out from his nostrils as he let out an almost inhuman roar and used his chakra to attack the wizard with brutal force.

"RAAAAHHH!"

Sasuke refused to listen to Sakura as she tried to force him to evacuate the area with her and chose to watch as Harry and Orochimaru went insane with violence. The wizard was able to read Orochimaru's movements and avoid almost all the blows he tried to throw with ducks and twists, while the Sannin was able to avoid the charms and curses that would have ended their battle a whole lot sooner. The two moved in almost a sort of dance as blades were thrown and curses blasted whole chunks of the branches, bases, and roots that would have turned a normal shinobi into dust or a mess of shredded flesh and clothes. Sasuke felt no desire to leave, as he stood there, fascinated at his teammate and the Sannin as the two of them fought across the environment.

"Sasuke-kun! WE HAVE TO LEAVE!" she shouted.

Exhausted, the Sannin tried to breathe but the wizard used his chance to kick the man in the chest and then use a curse to freeze him and lead the two rookies below them to the tower, now that he noticed the two of them did not leave as he instructed. While his foot was driven into the Sannin's stomach, Orochimaru took the chance he had; he held the wizard's ankle and twisted it. The sorcerer shouted and then the Sannin clenched the ankle in his hands and threw the wizard into the darkness between two trees in the woods. Orochimaru then took his chance and vanished into the dark.

He landed on the same branch where he left Sasuke and Sakura. The two rookies flinched when the criminal stared at them and smirked a little bit and he looked at Sasuke the most. Sakura hid behind her teammate while he stretched out his one arm in a defensive manner. The criminal's smile stretched across his bruised and battered face and then he talked to the Uchiha with a dark tone in his voice.

"I'm cannot take another chance with the freak, Sasuke-kun…" said Orochimaru as he took another step closer to him, "You are indeed Itachi Uchiha's little brother, there's no a doubt about that. You could be weak or not. But I will still make you my apprentice and give you the power you seek like a rat that sniffs cheese. I can see the hatred and lust for strength burn in those eyes…"

Sasuke turned livid and furious at the mere mention of his former brother and he demanded at once, "WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HIM?"

Orochimaru smirked as he looked into Sasuke's wrathful face. He had activated his Sharingan and started to seethe at the older shinobi in a manner similar to the older shinobi while he faced the wizard that distracted him from his intentions with the rookie team. The Sannin licked his teeth as the teen showed such ferociousness that his female teammate tried to hold him back and force him to retreat to the tower.

"There it is, Sasuke-kun. You hold such beautiful hatred in that voice alone. You show such a thirst for revenge," the older shinobi then screamed in a cold voice, "THAT'S THE KIND OF THIRST I WANTED TO SEE THIS WHOLE TIME!"

{{_Midnight by Murray Gold & BBC National Orchestra of Wales_}}

And then out of nowhere, Orochimaru's hands blurred and then he outstretched his neck so much, that his neck resembled a white snake on its own as it extended over seventeen feet and then double that. His head swirled and twisted around in the air and then he closed in on Sasuke. The snake Sannin widened his maw and revealed a set of venomous teeth, like a snake or a vampire. The master sorcerer saw this and recovered almost at once. He cursed out loud and used his incredible abilities to storm after the Uchiha before Orochimaru did whatever it was that he was about to do. But after he launched another random curse, he missed and it was too late to save him.

"_**DAMMIT! NO!**_"

Orochimaru had reached the Uchiha and sank his teeth into his neck. He remained there for a moment, frozen, and he released a clear fluid into Sasuke's bloodstream that froze him where he stood as he shivered and drooled. The Uchiha felt the cold fluid enter his blood and flow into his veins. He felt frozen in the literal sense of the term and stood there as he stared at the trees until Orochimaru released his hold over him and muttered into his ear. Sasuke shivered and twitched his hands for several moments and Orochimaru's neck returned to its normal state.

The Sannin had muttered to the Uchiha, "I look forward to when we next meet, Sasuke-kun… I wish to assist in the conquest to obtain more power…"

Sasuke felt the cold fluid inside him start to turn hot until it at last burned and caused his neck to swell in the area where he was bitten. His neck turned red and then the swell of flesh died down until it almost looked like he was back to normal. But then his head and neck seemed to drain and almost all the color in his face had vanished. The venom started to burn as it concentrated in the area, close to where he was bitten and he felt the now acid-like fluid flowed into all his muscles and cells within seconds. He shivered and then his knees buckled as he clenched his neck and started to shout and scream. The Uchiha fell to his knees and then he unleashed a series of horrific shouts and screams.

"AAUGH! UNH! AAAAAAAAAAAAH! AIIIIEEEEEEEEE! RAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Sasuke screamed and writhed as his female teammate came to his side and tried to calm him down or ease whatever it was that was the matter with her beloved Uchiha.

"Sasuke-kun!" she shouted, "SASUKE-KUN!"

Orochimaru chuckled as he tilted his head and watched as the Uchiha twitch and writhe, "Consider it a token to remember me, Sasuke-kun. Use it well."

{{_Yajuu no Chi by Iwasaki Taku_}}

The master sorcerer was so furious and so frustrated at the Sannin that he used a curse that blasted the man off his feet in the middle of his chuckle and blasted him out from a tree. Orochimaru wasn't even able to breath or make a sound as he was thrown like a doll and crashed into the base of another tree. Harry then used a new curse that he derived from a fictional book he read about once that allowed him to control the environment at least to enable him to hold the Sannin down for whatever he had in mind to do to him.

"**ADSTINGO MALUS SERPENS!**"

At his command, the roots from all the trees around the human snake came to life and wreathed around the torso and limbs of the Sannin until he was bound under more than two tons of solid wood. The roots were merciless as all of them came out of the earth and constricted around Orochimaru until it almost felt like the roots were about to tear off his limbs and then his head as two more thin roots were tied around his neck and scratched his throat.

"What… I… I can't break free… What in the world is this?" he demanded.

And the wizard smirked as he answered him, "_**How about we call it the Devil's Snare? Go ahead and break free to see what happens. No matter what, it should allow me the time I need for this one last trick I have in mind.**_"

The wand the sorcerer held in his hands almost turned red as he muttered a series of incantations under his breath until at last he uttered the words of one of the most intense curses he had ever used or invented while he was lost in limbo.

"**INFELICITAS EXTREMUS MAXIMA!**"

The Sannin realized he had made a mistake too late and should have left while he had the chance, Uchiha or not. There was a red flash and an incredible scarlet beam that hit him in the center of his chest. Orochimaru was blinded for half a moment and then he was forced off his feet while his hands reached to touch his chest as he was freed from his confines in a shower of blood and broken stones. The roots that bound the Sannin were turned into solid rock and the force of the curse that hit him in the chest blasted the frozen roots into dozens of small rocks while the Sannin was thrown into the air and the force from the sudden blow to the chest cut and tore the flesh that was once bound. Orochimaru was tossed into a new darker area of forest where he screamed when his back hit the floor and his chest was on fire. The clothes on his chest were burned into cinders while there was a red mark on his chest that faded into his skin. The Sannin tried to recover as sweat flushed down his face and all the muscles in his arms and chest were still on fire and twitched. The man tried to calm down and breath, but it hurt so much that it almost killed him to move.

There sorcerer stood over the infamous shinobi from a distance, his shadow cast over the criminal while Orochimaru turned to look at the wizard and hissed at him while he tried his best to breathe.

He demanded at the child, "What… Have… You… Done… To… Me?"

"_**You have been cursed. Consider it a token to remember me, wanker.**_"

Orochimaru said as he forced himself to retreat, "Another time, Naruto-kun… Another time…"

With that said, the Sannin fled into the dark forest and was never heard or seen a second time. The sorcerer did not move until he was sure that Orochimaru would never return. Once he was alone, he too vanished in a flash and returned to Sakura and the wounded Uchiha. The kunoichi cradled Sasuke who seemed to have lost consciousness while he held his head and neck in a fetal state. She had tears run down her face as she worried over him, but then she saw the wizard return. Sakura let Sasuke down for a moment before she stood in front of the sorcerer and held her arms out as she defended her teammate.

"W-W-Where is Naruto?" she demanded while she twitched and shivered.

The sorcerer rested his hand to his chest and said with a calm voice, "_**He's in here, Sakura Haruno. Let me see Sasuke. He needs medical attention. Don't be so stressed out, I will not harm him.**_"

"N-N-No! You're n-n-not Naruto! Where is Naruto? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?"

"_**Lord knows how much I've wanted to do this**__**…**_" he breathed out as he withdrew the wand and aimed at her forehead, "_**Please excuse me, Miss Haruno.**_"

She was about to demand what he was about to do to her but her sentence was cut short, "W-What are-"

"_**STUPEFY!**_"

* * *

To Be Continued…

* * *

**There we have it! The sixth chapter! It took me forever to re-write it but I hope the wait was worth it. Again, I'm really sorry that it took me this long, I feel really guilty about it. Fun-fact: I didn't actually know it would be so long once I was done, but I think a long chapter is for the best. You guys deserved an update a whole lot sooner so I decided in the end that I'll give you wonderful readers what you waited for and more. Instead of spitting it into two more chapters.**

**Azeroth44: Should we come out now or what?**

**Naruto: Not now! Give him until the next chapter!**

**Let's see about the differences now... In the previous version, I had Naruto use the same shadow clone he sent to retrieve the Earth scroll to hit him in mid-run with his teammates and make it look like he found the scroll when he was struck down. It was a dumb idea when I think back to it. Meanwhile, Sakura tended to Naruto, our indecisive selfish moron Sasuke checked out some noises he heard and met Karin, like he did in the manga. I decided to change this and make it much better and more action-packed to make up for the other events that I had to cut out from the original Forest of Death arc. I also felt I owed you guys for me taking so long to write this, so there we have it.**

**I hope it turned out well, if not better than the original version. Be sure to let me know in the reviews. As always, I really appreciate them.**

**Oh! I should mention that the curse Harry used: Adstingo Malus Serpens means "bind the evil serpent" and Infelicitas Extremus Maxima means "extreme maximum misfortune" these are two unique spells that I created since I never named them in the original fanfic.**

**See you guys next time! :D**


	7. The Truth Hidden Beneath

"Blah": Talking

'**Blah**': Demon speaking/Inner Sakura

'_Blah_': Naruto's thoughts/other people's thoughts

'_**Blah**_': Harry talking to Naruto

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**Wow! I don't think I've seen so many recent reviews after one chapter submission! Thank you everyone that submitted a review, reading all of them made me feel so ecstatic, I do appreciate them all and I'm glad I made some people happy as well with the latest post! And now we're back, this time much sooner than the last time! And to think that it's been such a long time since I first wrote this chapter in the previous version of Chunin Exams. It sure did bring back a lot of memories while I wrote this.**

**Azeroth44: Like what?**

**K: You freaked out over a World of Warcraft game last time.**

**AZ44: I don't remember.**

**K: You don't? You don't remember when you went mad when I mistaken the Worgen and called them werewolves?**

**AZ44: Nope.**

**Naruto: What about the Land of Titans? You blasted like an active volcano when one of us called it Egypt.**

**AZ44: You'll have to be more specific than that.**

**K: You strangled me and roared into the camera that Deathwing would devour our souls over a lost match in 2010's Goldeneye 007 multiplayer mode.**

**AZ44: Oh! Now I remember! Cataclysm! Deathwing! Eating your souls and the demonic rampage! Now I remember that introduction! We had to cut the introduction short thanks to technical difficulties! Let's do it again!**

**K: No.**

**AZ44: Oh, c'mon! Please?**

**K: No.**

**AZ44: You're so mean!**

**K: I don't care. Let's start the chapter before we piss off the readers.**

**Naruto: I second that! Toss me the popcorn!**

**K: Catch!**

**AZ44: I WILL NOT BE SILENCED!**

**While General Zod over here tries to calm down, let's see how our two wizards will fair out this time around. With Sakura and Sasuke knocked out and Harry still in control of Naruto's body, what in the world will happen?**

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**Remember: Reviews are welcome and wanted!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto**

**Harry Potter is property of JK Rowling**

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Chapter 7: The Truth Hidden Beneath

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{{_Crouch's Trouble by Patrick Doyle_}}

Once Sakura was unconscious with a bruise on her wide forehead, Harry went to work at once in order to aid the fallen Uchiha and cover his involvement in this most recent incident.

He examined Sasuke to make sure his vitals were normal and that he was still alive. The wizard checked his forehead and determined that the Uchiha was in a lot of physical pain caused from whatever it was that Orochimaru had done to him. His vital fluctuated and his breath was uneven as well as his heartbeat. The sorcerer could feel the venom from the bite course through his muscles and veins but was concentrated at the base of the neck. Harry turned the teen over with little effort thanks to Naruto's muscles and examined the neck. Indeed, at the base of the neck, the venom was concentrated the most and started to form a mark that looked like a tattoo. It was the same mark seen on the crowns of the snakes that Orochimaru used to attack them with.

The wizard then took his borrowed wand and aimed it at the three black blots, where he started to mutter several incantations in order to influence the mark as it formed. He tried to revert the effects and cause it to be cancelled out with magic, but it was unsuccessful. All he was able to do was cause the mark to blur like a blot of ink before it started to form the same mark as before. It was as if the mark was alive and it wanted to survive and form its stable circular structure. Harry tried one more time to hold it back, as he sensed the rest of the venom inside the Uchiha start to flow towards the mark on his neck and overwhelmed his enchantments. He was at least able to stall the formation of the mark and allow him the time he needed to think.

The sorcerer took a breath and aimed the wand at both Sasuke and Sakura after he rested them close to each other and muttered, "_Obliviate!_"

The end of Naruto's wand created a small whitish orb at the end as the charm wavered over the two teens. Soon, the two distressed rookies looked calmer in their unconscious state as their memories were erased and then modified. The two of them never looked so well rested without all the sweat and dirt on their faces in mind. It meant that the effects of the charms had worked and that the two of them would not remember the same events as the wizard as their memories were switched with false truths. Once he was done, Harry checked to make sure he still had the two scrolls that Sasuke almost wasted and then inserted his brother's wand into his trousers. Now that he was secure and certain that their time in the forest was not wasted, he sauntered over to the two rookies, held onto their almost lifeless cold hands, and willed then to the tower.

Harry vanished out of thin air with a loud crack as he took both the Uchiha and the kunoichi that he hated with him to a much safer location. The two rookies remained oblivious, as the two of them were sucked into what seemed like a vortex and then less than a second later slammed into the earth in a mess that would have otherwise caused them to feel sick and hurt. The sorcerer had taken the children and arrived at the base of the massive tower via Side-Along Apparation. He looked at the immense tower and realized now that it was even more massive than the Administration Building and that it could hold an international Quidditch Pitch if it wanted to. The sorcerer soon carried the rookies over his shoulders, amazed that Naruto was able to lift two teens on his own at all, and took them to the nearest door, locked with a seal. While it turned to dusk, the sorcerer didn't bother to reach down for his wand and instead outstretched his hand and willed the seal on the door to burn into crumbled ashes and dust. He then flicked his hand and the door opened to allow him and the others to come in. Harry then let the rookies down on the floor, closed the door, and locked it shut with his wand this time.

He was exhausted, but with the door locked, the controlled rookie withdrew the two scrolls from his trousers and tossed them on the floor as he unlocked them. The scrolls were unraveled on the floor and released an incredible amount of white smoke, which meant that it had activated a summons. The wizard had no idea what was about to come out of the scroll but he knew that he couldn't fight as he felt his knees buckle while he tried to stand between the unconscious rookies. When the smoke was cleared, the sorcerer could have cried as it revealed to be a shinobi; it was his dear friend Iruka Umino.

The trusted tan-skinned chunin stood on the two crossed scrolls as white smoke encircled him and dissolved in the air while he crossed his arms in a more relaxed manner and smirked a little bit when he saw his little brother. The wizard couldn't believe his luck so far and had used all the skills and abilities he had to use in order to combat one of the Sannin and take the children with him to the tower. It was another miracle that he hadn't died from exhaustion or at least lost consciousness after the seal had been defiled and unbalanced the chakra that once stabilized his little brother.

The sorcerer almost smiled at the man and breathed, "_**Iruka…**_"

The chunin blinked when he saw the unconscious kids and then he noticed, '_That's a little weird; Naruto left out the _aniki_ bit… He isn't mad at me, is he__?_'

"Wait a minute…" he then realized the different color irises were switched from blue to emerald, the exact same shade as his friend, "Harry?"

The wizard nodded and said, "_**Yeah, it's me. Naruto is unconscious and I was forced to take control over him. Something bad happened in the forest. The Sannin Orochimaru has returned and he's here in Konoha. He attacked Naruto and the others and he forced another seal over the seal that contains the fox demon. It's causing Naruto a lot of problems now, I can feel it,**_" the wizard hesitated as he rested his hand on the seal on his brother's stomach, and then he continued, "_**He also bit the Uchiha on the neck. I don't know what's been done to him, but there's a mark on his neck and I'm almost certain it's alive. I was able to hold back the effects, but he needs medical assistance now. All three of these rookies need a doctor; I can't heal them.**_"

Iruka was almost overwhelmed with the latest news and events, while his face almost drained at the mention of Orochimaru. He had lectured about him several times in his classes, but he never believed that man would ever return to Konoha. He also didn't think that his little brother had faced him and survived the encounter. The worrisome chunin rushed over and checked both the rookies on the floor and confirmed the details his friend had told him about Sasuke and the mark on his neck.

"When will Naruto wake up?" the tan-skinned chunin asked and then said, "You won't convince Sarutobi or Kakashi that he's the one in control with those irises and that _thick_ accent."

The wizard informed him, "_**I know. I will surrender control over him soon. You can tell the authorities that he fainted from exhaustion after he was able to elucidate the basic details when he arrived.**_"

"He's still ok, isn't he?" the chunin asked, as he was worried about his child.

Harry nodded to the worried chunin but then he shook his head as he said, "_**It wouldn't be wise to assume that the worst is behind him. But other than the mess with the seal, he should be fine. But we need Sarutobi to fix whatever it was that was done to him. I have no idea what Orochimaru did but I can't even reach the Yondaime's seal in the mindscape now. It's like the door to enter the demon's chamber has vanished. Where's the old man now?**_"

"He's here in the tower," answered Iruka, "There's an office on one of the levels above us and he's with Ibiki Morino now about the first examination and the deaths of three rookies from Kusa."

The sorcerer nodded and then he cleared his throat and said, "_**That makes this a little bit easier for us then. You'll need to tell him what happened if we want to fix the seal and save the Uchiha. Here's the short version; several hours earlier, Team 7 was attacked. Naruto battled Orochimaru and was forced to use the demon's chakra while the two clashed. Soon after, Orochimaru hit him in the stomach and did something to the seal that made him lose consciousness for a while. When he came to, Orochimaru had fled the scene and both Sasuke and Sakura were knocked out and the Uchiha had been bitten on the neck. Naruto checked to make sure he still had the scrolls, and then he carried his teammates here with his shadow clones to the tower. Got all that?**_"

"Yeah. Got it…" he nodded back and then he let out a small smile as he saluted to his friend, "I sure wish we could have met under better circumstances than this…"

The wizard nodded, he smiled back at him and thanked him for his incredible assistance, "_**So do I, Iruka… Until next time**_."

He then closed his eyes and Naruto crumbled to the floor in a soft thud, beside his two friends. Iruka called for a medical team and once the team arrived and escorted the rookies to the medical center, Iruka focused chakra into his feet and dashed towards the stairs to find the Sandaime as soon as he could. With luck, the old man would be able to send in a strike team to take down Orochimaru, if he wasn't able to flee the scene in time.

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Hiruzen Sarutobi was indeed in his alternate office that he used in the tower of the Forest of Death. He didn't use it often, but it served more as a normal conference room, since it was next door to a recreation room. At the moment, the old man was in his desk with Ibiki Morino at his side. The hardened shinobi showed him Naruto Uzumaki's handed-in test from the first examination and the note he had left behind on it. It took him a while but Ibiki was able to meet with the old man and show him the note while he shared his concerns about what the child had meant when he wrote it down.

"Smells a lot like snakes… You don't think this sounds a little bit like our old friend Orochimaru, sir?" asked Ibiki in a concerned tone.

Sarutobi answered after he hesitated, "There's a chance. But we can never be too certain. Orochimaru intended to come back to Konoha to unleash his retribution ever since he defected. But he wouldn't risk an attack or even a small invasion unless he was sure that he would succeed and his forces would never be detected. He wouldn't let his own stink be smelt even in the most extreme circumstance. So the chances that this has a connection to Orochimaru is a little much to consider at this moment… But even if he ever returned or initiated an attack, this scent that Naruto talks about in this note confuses me somewhat. Because it came from individuals that I don't think could even be connected to Orochimaru… We will have to see Anko about this as well and ask what she thinks. Where is she?"

"I saw her leave the area a little while earlier with several other Tokubetsu about the bodies of the rookies from Kusa. She came back here and looked worried and furious-" he started to inform the old leader.

But then the tall shinobi looked to the door to see a familiar tan chunin burst into the office, sweat on his brow and a little bit winded since he ran from the first floor. Hiruzen looked to the familiar shinobi and looked more amused and a little bit relieved when one of his favorite teachers arrived with what he assumed was vital news on the exam. After all, he volunteered to be the instructor that would inform Naruto and his teammates that the three rookies succeeded on their survival test and then lecture them on the third and final exam.

Iruka forced out, "Forgive me, Hokage-sama! Kakashi's team is in the tower now."

"So soon?" asked a bemused Sarutobi.

But the chunin continued and said in a raised and worried voice, "But there has been an incident! Orochimaru of the Sannin is here and attacked them!"

"_What the devil?_" the old man almost turned white and rose in his chair.

Iruka then told him, "He did something bad to the seal on Naruto's stomach, the one that contains the fox demon, and he bit Sasuke Uchiha. I think a curse mark has started to form on his neck. Naruto used his shadow clones and carried his teammates here to the tower but then he fainted after he told me about Orochimaru. All of them are in the medical center now, sir."

Sarutobi took less than a moment to decide his next course of action and looked to Iruka as he ordered him, "Send word to Kakashi Hatake to come here at once."

Iruka nodded his head to the old man but looked frustrated when he turned around and wondered where in the world someone like Kakashi Hatake would be. There was no doubt in his mind that he would be in a bookstore at this time in a section that would cause him a nosebleed if he wandered around. Not to mention he was still frustrated at the senior shinobi for when he humiliated him in front of the other shinobi and kunoichi last week.

Once Iruka had left, Sarutobi turned to Ibiki and said, "It looks like our worst fears have been realized, Ibiki…"

The man nodded and waited several moments for Sarutobi to make another decision. No doubt the old man didn't need to be worried about his former student in the middle of the annual event, but that didn't mean that he didn't think fast on how to counter him before he made his next move.

He told the tall shinobi, "Anko must have found out that he was here and set out into the forest to kill him. Send the ANBU to find her, wherever she is, and have her come to me at once. We will need her as well if we want a chance to save Naruto and Sasuke."

Ibiki nodded to his leader and left the office to set out and find Anko. He and the other ANBU would have to move fast and find her before she tracked down her former mentor. If not, and she found the Sannin in the forest first, there was a chance he would have her killed and Sarutobi would have a more difficult time to fix Naruto's seal. But even if the ANBU saved her in time, Ibiki still felt a little bit worried about how furious she would be when she was denied the blood of the mentor she desired to shed.

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{{_Harry Dreams (Film Version) by Patrick Doyle_}}

Naruto moaned as he stirred in his slumber. He could have sworn that he heard voices out in the distance, worried or serious tones and voices that made little to no sense to him. He then felt unfamiliar and cold hands touch him, remove his clothes, and the examined him. Naruto felt one or two sets of warm and familiar hands, but their touch did little to comfort him as he sweat and tried to breath slow. He couldn't move and he couldn't see as he was surrounded with darkness, like in the cave he had fallen into earlier. He tried to break free or run, but the trail was endless and he was soon exhausted. Naruto continued to stir and heard more voices; some were familiar while others were more alien to him.

He then started to see a brilliant beam from out of the dark, he followed it and he was soon consumed in a column of wind that sliced his bare skin. He blinked and he saw Sasuke, unconscious on the bloodstained earth covered with mud and dirt while his teammate Sakura screamed and cowered behind him. Naruto looked out ahead and saw Orochimaru as he zoomed towards him with a sword in his hand. He tried to attack the man, but he couldn't move or even blink as the man rode on the back of a snake and continue to run towards him in a blur. Naruto tried to scream as well, but he made no noise as the Sannin reeled his sword back to cut off the blonde shinobi's head. There was an intense emerald flash that reflected off the sword and blinded him as the man closed in to kill him.

When the flash almost blinded him, Naruto awoke at once with his back stuck to an unfamiliar bed. He breathed and tried to calm down while he felt a warm hand hold his own and then another warm hand rested on his forehead. He was a blurred brown-skinned face start to form until he smiled when it came into focus.

"Iruka-aniki…"

The chunin smiled as he relaxed and sat back in his seat beside the bed at the end of the medical center, "Hi there, bud…"

Iruka relaxed when he saw his child come back to life. For a while he feared the worst when the rookie almost refused to awaken for the last several hours but now his fears were set aside. It was thanks to Kakashi and what little he knew about seals that enabled Naruto to come to so soon. He didn't do much other than send his student an extra chakra boost to the normal seal, which cancelled out the effects of the extra seal. Iruka would have been able to think about Kakashi in a more positive light, but it had been difficult to find him until he found him hidden in the adult-section at a random local bookstore.

Naruto rubbed his sore forehead and tried to sit on the bed, but his brother was there to hold him back and let him down on the mattress.

"Whoa, slow down there. You've been out for a while. Besides, it's not everyday we get to fight one of the Sannin and live to talk about it," he smiled a little bit as Naruto almost fainted from the sudden blood flow from his head to his toes.

Naruto tried to take in that last statement, and soon he remembered the events in the exam at least as much as he could remember and the dream he had moments earlier.

He started to realize and then he tried to move as he worried, "Sannin? Wait… Sasuke and Sakura-chan!"

Iruka lifted his arms up and gestured for Naruto to calm down and he explained, "Sakura is fine, she's rested at one of the bedrooms somewhere in the tower. Kakashi and the Sandaime are with Sasuke now somewhere down in the basement level dealing with his, uh, neck wound… He had this violent outburst earlier when he came to and he had to be detained downstairs…"

The tan-skinned chunin frowned a little bit when he saw Naruto's face become blank and realized that he had focused on his subconscious.

After several seconds, the blonde shinobi returned to the real world and he said, "Orochimaru bit him on the neck. Nii-san was forced to rewrite both his and Sakura-chan's memories in order to cover his involvement in the battle that ensued. Sakura-chan was convinced that he was some monster about to attack her and Sasuke after Orochimaru fled the scene. Nii-san was forced to knock her out."

Naruto tried to move and stretch out his toes but then he froze and winced as he retreated into the bed and felt so weak and sore. It almost felt like he had strained almost all the muscles in his arms and chest, and soon he realized it was the result of the demon chakra he was endowed with while he battle the Sannin on his own.

"So how do we feel?" asked Iruka as he handed his brother some water.

Naruto moaned a little bit before he drank a little bit and tried to relax on the mattress, "Terrible… I don't think I've ever felt this weak before. I don't think I'm able to heal as fast as I should; it still hurts so much to so much as move… It's that damn demon fox's fault. I swear the first chance I have, I'll make sure to deliver it a world of hurt…"

"Allow me to elaborate on that," the trusted chunin decided to enter into a new lecture-method that he wanted to test on his former student, where he took a blank sheet and used chibi characters to make sense out of the situation with the seals, "You see; Orochimaru slammed another seal over the Yondaime's seal that contains the beast and channels its chakra; it's called a Five Prong Seal. Sarutobi said that it's halted the usual healing factor and has choked the normal flow of demon chakra that's supposed to mix with your normal chakra… So we can hold back on the death threats towards the beast, at least for a little while."

Naruto smiled at the lecture for once but then he started to frown when he added, "It's not that alone. I can't mold chakra like I used to at all. It's so much harder to focus even a little bit. I think whatever Orochimaru did to the seal, he also ruined all the hard work I achieved back in the Land of Waves," the blonde shinobi stared at his hand as he tried to mold his chakra to make it feel warm but he felt restrained and his skin remained almost ice-cold, "You wouldn't have another lecture on how to fix it, aniki?"

"I asked the Sandaime about it when he told me about the extra seal. He said that he would send someone to look at it and fix it soon," answered Iruka.

Naruto let out a breath and said, "Well, that's the best news I've heard in a while." he then noticed that he now wore some hospital pajamas and looked around for his clothes, "Did the doctors change me while I was unconscious?"

"Yeah, what's the matter?" answered and asked Iruka as he watched Naruto move around the bed and search under the sheets in a rather distressed manner.

The blonde wizard said, "This is bad! The wand! Did the doctors take it? I can't find it!"

"You mean this?" asked Iruka in a cute voice as he smirked.

Naruto looked at his older brother and saw him wave it above his head, but made sure he never held the handle or the end and instead dribbled it between his index and thumb. He smirked at his little brother and even teased him a little bit as he raised it out of his reach before he let him have it back once he had been amused.

The blonde shinobi breathed at last, "Oh, thanks heavens…"

"Thank me, kiddo!" added the tall and tan chunin and then he said, "Still, I'm shocked that this worthless little stick didn't break in the middle of whatever went down in that forest."

Naruto looked insulted and then he started to smirk and informed his tan older brother, "Worthless little stick? This _durable_ little stick was the reason I was able to ace the exams so far!"

"Hold on a minute there," the older chunin said as he held out his hand and then he ordered in a somewhat excited tone, "Fill me in on the details, kiddo."

The blonde-haired rookie was not able to move around the room, but he was still able to talk a-mile-a-minute as he went into extreme detail about the events in the examinations. With his wand in his hand Naruto was able to detail Iruka on almost all the events from the kunoichi he was forced to use a Shield Charm on to when he and Sasuke worked as teammates for once to collect fish for their dinner and formulate ideas on how to obtain their second scroll. Naruto then told the older man about how he enchanted the environment where the team had rested and was overwhelmed with relief. Iruka had feared that his little Naruto would not be able to survive the forest until he was reminded that with the aid of his secret abilities, the child could become invisible even in the most arduous environments. Iruka continued to listen in as Naruto told him all about when his shadow clones set out into the darkness and ran into Kabuto Yakushi's team and the rookies from Ame and how he had defeated them.

"That's not even the best bit! After the Ame rookies were knocked out, I discovered a Whomping Willow out there in the forest! The real deal!" he almost shouted as he bounced on his bed.

Iruka reached out to calm him down a little and was shocked to hear that an enchanted tree existed in their world as well. He had heard rumors that the forest was alive back when he first entered the exams when he was still a teen, but Iruka never believed in tall tales or ridiculous stories until he met his little brother. But before Iruka could take in the news, he had to think back to his time in the Pensieve and remember what a Whomping Willow even was.

He asked his little brother to make sure he had the idea, "That's the tree that thrashes around and tries to kill other random animals and humans, right?"

"That's it! You remembered!" the small blonde rookie smiled.

Iruka shrugged and asked, "Well, how hard is it to remember a tree that tries to kill someone?"

"Heh!" the child chuckled and then he continued, "I had to freeze the tree in order to save those rookies from Ame, and none of them appreciated it!"

Curious, the older chunin asked, "How so?"

"All three of them tried to kill us," said Naruto as he tried to wave his arms and said in an excited and wondrous voice as he made references to comics that his brother never understood, "Sasuke and Sakura-chan were forced to face the other two and came out unharmed, while I was stuck with the one other shinobi in the world that could make clones! You should have seen me; I was like Thor and the Warriors Three when he faced the Ice Giants of Jotunheim! I didn't kill the rookie that attacked me, but I annihilated all of his clones! Not one soldier was missed!"

Iruka's face was blank for a little bit and then he said with a small smile, "I have no idea what that means, but I bet it must have been a blast!"

"It sure was," the blonde wizard almost shouted, "And I didn't leave without some souvenirs!"

With a small wave of his wand, Naruto summoned his weapons pouch and searched the contents until he discovered the most valuable item he had obtained in the river. He searched the contents and almost feared that he lost it in the battle with the Sannin, but he was mistaken when he felt the cold and wet substance located at the bottom, mixed with the branches and leafs. The blonde child smiled and he landed the slime-covered knotted mold of tentacles on the table beside the bed. Naruto smiled at it in awe while his older brother stared at the mess with revulsion and even itched backwards when he mistook the natural weed for some dead creature.

The chunin asked in a little bit of alarm, "What the hell is that?"

"It's Gillyweed," exclaimed the blonde child as he held it in his hands and stared at it in fascination, "I found it in the riverbed where we found the fish for dinner!"

Iruka could have sworn that he knew what it was when he heard what it was called and tried to recollect one of the countless memories he had witnessed in the Pensieve in order to remember what it did to someone whenever it was consumed, "Wait a minute! I know that name! Don't tell me what it is! I know this one!"

"Gillyweed enables whoever eats it, to breath underwater and form webbed hands and feet!" the blonde wizard blurted out the answer when couldn't hold it in.

Iruka smacked his knee and said, "Damn! I almost had it!"

"I didn't think that this even existed in this world. It makes me wonder what else I could find out there in that forest. If it weren't for that troublesome white snake on the loose, Nii-san and I should sneak out and look around the forest for more!" the child said as he looked out the window and stared at the dark woods.

But then Iruka insisted in a somewhat humorous tone mixed in his insistent voice, "You won't while I'm still around!"

"Fine," sulked the blonde wizard as he crossed his arms.

Iruka then noticed the other items his little brother had stashed and distracted him with his own curious nature, "So what are those?"

Naruto looked a little bit amused, as he showed his older sibling what else he had discovered, even while there wasn't much to show, "Um, let's see… Mushrooms, dirt, a little black stone, some branches, and… more dirt… Once Orochimaru is out of our business, I should come back to this forest and search around for more souvenirs."

"Heh! We'll have to see about that, Naruto…" the chunin chuckled and ruffled the child's blonde hair before he stood and insisted that his child should take it nice and slow in order to recover, "You need to rest now."

The blonde wizard was soon overwhelmed with the need to sit back and rest. So he relaxed his head down and had a nice small but calm talk with Iruka about his return to teach at the school and that Konohamaru Sarutobi and his little friends were three of his most troublesome students. Naruto chuckled a little bit and wished his brother the best of luck. Over time, the blonde shinobi needed to rest a little bit while the older chunin beside him leaned back in his chair and watched over his child as he watched him wince or relax. After about five minutes, Iruka felt he needed to reassure his little brother and ruffled his hair a little bit.

He then said, "Sometime soon, the world will be back to normal…"

"No, it's not…" the blonde shinobi's stomach let out a howl and he whined, "I'm starvin'…"

Iruka smiled and looked out the window as he asked, "You want me to find some Ichiraku Ramen?"

"Some tea and cookies would be a nice start, thanks," the little wizard smirked as he leaned back and sank into his mattress and Iruka chuckled.

* * *

Several hours later and after Iruka was allowed to leave the tower and the forest with an ANBU escort, Naruto took some time to rest and heal from the burns in his muscles, he remained in the medical center alone with a nurse or two that attended to his needs. Even while he rested, he was still worried about his teammates and wondered when he would be able to see them. While Naruto was not too fond of his rival, he was still concerned about Sasuke and what had become of him. The rookie shinobi remained bored and ill informed until a certain someone came in to visit him. Naruto stared out his window and tried to determine the exact time until he heard the sound of feet and the doors into the medical center slid to the sides to reveal the Sandaime as well as several ANBU soldiers. The ANBU soon surrounded the room while the kind old man walked into the medical center and he smiled at Naruto when he saw him from across the room.

Sarutobi smiled as he saw the child sit on his bed and said in a warm and welcome voice, "Good afternoon, Naruto-kun. You're awake at last, I see. You had me worried for a while."

"Grandpa," the blonde-haired shinobi beamed as the old man walked over to him.

It almost felt like he hadn't talked to the old man in months. And it seemed that the difference in the time since their last encounter showed. To Naruto, it looked like Sarutobi had decided to cultivate a beard as well as a mustache in the time since their last face-to-face encounter. The additional facial hair could have been the result of the amount of work he dedicated himself to since the old man had not been seen in months to hand out missions and instead left that work to other shinobi. No doubt, the Chunin Exams would need a lot of his time and assistance since it was such a remarkable worldwide event. But no matter what the circumstances of his additional facial hair were, Naruto sure did think his loveable elder would look cooler and a lot more like a wise wizard if he decided to grow a beard. It would make him liken the old man to Albus Dumbledore or even the famous Merlin, but he set it all aside as the blonde shinobi noticed the ANBU closed and locked the doors while some of them moved in a cautious manner as the two tallest and widest soldiers in the back crossed their arms. Sarutobi sat down in the chair beside the bed and looked to the blonde child with a more serious look while the thin ANBU in the medical center leaned back on the bed across the room as he stared at the lone Uzumaki.

Naruto's smile started to fade a little bit and noticed the old man had his test folded in his hands and the blonde wizard asked, "What's the matter?"

The old man made the child feel a little bit nervous while he unfolded the test and showed Naruto the note he had written down.

"I'm afraid we need to sit down and discuss this note you wrote on the exam," the old man said in a stern but warm tone as he insisted the child to tell the truth and then he said, "And I also need you to tell me more about what happened in the forest with Orochimaru."

Naruto looked down at his old test and re-read the details he wrote while he listened to his older brother and the details the two of them rehearsed several times. The child soon cleared his throat and started his tale: the truth hidden well within the truth.

"Well… Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme, and I entered the classroom and we met our old classmates from school. But then this much older rookie named Kabuto Yakushi walked over to us and then he showed us these weird cards that he turned into detailed dossiers about us."

"Dossiers?" asked Sarutobi.

Naruto nodded and he told the old man all about the teen he had encountered, "Yes. Somehow he was able to obtain almost all our information when he focused his chakra into these blank collector cards and then he showed off all our statuses to the other rookies like we were collectibles. And that's when he started to let out this terrible odor. He smelled a lot like a snake, to me, it was like some foul rotten stench."

"Smelled like snakes," the old man asked, "What does that mean, Naruto-kun?"

The blonde-haired shinobi was forced to lie this time and told him as he shook his head in subtle denial, "I don't know how I can do it… but somehow I know what snakes smell like, even from a distance… I've been able to do it ever since I was little, so for all I know I could have been born with an enhanced sense of smell… And this Kabuto-character smelled like he bathed in a tub full of cobra venom."

"Hmm…" the lie seemed to work but there was a small indication on his wrinkled old face that he was more curious about the child's enhanced abilities and he said, "I had no idea that about that… Please, continue, Naruto-kun…"

Naruto maintained a subtle mental shield as he relaxed on the bed and he went into more detail about his and his older brother's suspicions about the much older rookie that stood out to them.

"Well, I smelled this same exact scent from the rookies of Oto that attacked Kabuto in the classroom a few moments later after he mentioned their homeland… And then I noticed that the scene looked a little bit… rehearsed. It didn't look all that natural when the Oto-nin lashed out at him; it was like a scene out of an old anime or a comic book. And that's when I noticed the smell. It seemed too much of a coincidence that the rookies from Oto and Kabuto were so similar. So I wrote it down on the test once I was done. But I'm not sure what it could mean."

Sarutobi remained still as a statue while he sat there on the chair. He blinked once or twice until he nodded his head and scratched his beard a little bit, "Tell me more about the events in the forest and Orochimaru…"

Naruto was nervous for a moment, more nervous than he ever felt while he was in the same room with his favored elder. But he never faltered. Not even for one moment while his shield was raised and he still felt the ANBU in the room stare down at him to intimidate the truth out of him. He did fear, for a moment, that the old man didn't believe his recollections. But his face said so otherwise, as he noticed the muscles in the man's wrinkled face start to relax, which was an indication that he did indeed believe him.

"Yeah. In the forest…" the child hesitated for a moment to remember what his brother had told him to tell the old man and he said, "After we found the Earth scroll, we were about to make it to the tower until we were ambushed with this hurricane and I lost Sasuke and Sakura-chan… And then this massive snake tried to eat me, so I used shadow clones to kill it when it swallowed me whole. Once I was free, I followed the trail of destruction back to Sasuke and Sakura-chan and found Orochimaru with them. He had the same smell as the other rookies but it was so much worse. That's when I knew then that we were in a lot of trouble."

Naruto cleared his throat and he took a drink of water that Sarutobi had handed him. Once his throat was clear and drenched, the blonde shinobi continued his truthful deceit.

"He summoned another snake and it attacked me. After that, I think I started to lash out at him and the snake. I started to burn inside and then I knew that it was the demon chakra inside me. I tried to hold it back, but I was so furious and I couldn't control it. After a while, it felt like I was blind until I was held down. And then I felt a hot hand touch the seal and I screamed… It hurt so much and then I must have blacked out, because the next thing I remember is when Sasuke and Sakura-chan were unconscious. I didn't know what to do next, so I took the scrolls, created some shadow clones, and carried them both here to the tower. I remembered Iruka-aniki in white smoke, I told him what I knew, and then that's it. And that's all I remember."

Sarutobi stared at Naruto, which made him feel a little bit intimidated now. Even with his mental shields raised to their maximum, Naruto failed to hide the small line of sweat that trickled down his face and fell from his chin. An excellent shinobi such as the one in front of him could catch a detail like that and determine Naruto's somewhat fabricated recounts in a heartbeat. But with luck on the child's side, the kind old man smiled and then he nodded as he rested his hand on the child's shoulder when he sensed a small amount of unease that was misread, "That's all I needed to hear, Naruto-kun."

Naruto grabbed a bit of his sheets in his hands and asked, "Sakura-chan and Sasuke will be ok, right?"

"Sakura is exhausted but she should be in her room somewhere here in the tower. As for Sasuke Uchiha, Kakashi is with him at the moment with Anko Mitarashi." he explained.

Naruto stated, "Iruka-aniki told me that he had a mark on his neck…"

"Yes, he does," breathed Sarutobi as he looked down at his knees and then faced the child with a confident look on his face, "But don't be too worried about it. The curse mark is still there on his neck but we've sealed and contained it in time. You were wise to come here so soon; otherwise Sasuke would have turned out a lot worse than he did. He'll have to continue to resist the mark, and he still needs time to rest. But don't let this incident create tension between teammates. All is well for now, Naruto-kun… All is well…"

Naruto looked down at his sheets and couldn't hold back the fear he felt for his dark teammate. He heard that the Uchiha had a violent outburst down in the basement and worried what affects this curse mark had on him or would have on him later if it wasn't treated well. Naruto knew a lot about curses thanks to his advanced studies in DADA and he knew that his teammate would not be well if he had a curse tattooed on his skin. While he didn't consider Sasuke to be a close friend to him, like Iruka, Shikamaru, Choji, or even Harry, he still valued the Uchiha as a comrade and cared about him as a normal friend would.

The blonde wizard deliberated the situation in his head until he asked at last, "How was this, um… curse mark contained?"

"Kakashi and I were able to encase it within an Evil Sealing Method," the old man informed him with the utmost confidence in both his voice and his face, "If Sasuke has the will to resist the curse's influence, then he should be fine from now on. The seal works on the will to resist the curse and should shield him from the affects. You should be able to see him soon once he's calmed down from the incident earlier before the extra seal was added. He had a violent outburst when he was awakened and almost hurt one of the ANBU, but he should be back to normal before the Third Exam starts…"

As if the old man could sense the child's distress, Sarutobi rested out his hand and raised his chin so that the child could see him smile and assured him. Some of the ANBU in the room turned the other cheek at the small moment the child had with the old man. The whole lot of them seemed a little bit nauseated as their esteemed leader showed affection to the blonde shinobi while one or two of them didn't seem to mind as said shinobi started to smile as well.

Naruto nodded as the Sandaime released his chin, "Ok… I think I feel a little bit better now…"

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded to his child and then he turned to look at his silent soldiers in the medical center. All of them stared at the leader and then followed his next orders when he raised his voice to them.

"Leave us," he told them in a stern tone.

Almost at once, the ANBU listened to their elder and left the medical center faster than a normal walk as Naruto noticed them move so fast that all of them seemed to turn into blurs in their movements. The blonde shinobi was a little bit unnerved when he saw the silent soldiers move. He was a little bit envious of them because all of the ANBU soldiers had the chakra control that was stolen from him and wished with all his heart that the extra seal on his stomach wasn't there to restrain him so. But then the blonde shinobi looked to his esteemed and trusted elder as he wondered out loud the reason he dismissed the ANBU at all.

He asked him, "What is it?"

"I feel it would be better to have the ANBU leave while we discuss the other matters at hand, Naruto-kun," the old man insisted as he turned back to face the rookie.

Naruto asked him in a somewhat concerned and nervous voice, "Other matters, sir?"

"Yes," nodded the Sandaime as he talked in a smooth tone, "There is one other issue that we need to discuss, about what Orochimaru had done."

The blonde-haired rookie was about to raise his t-shirt while he asked; "Is it about the seal?"

Sarutobi forced him to release his shirt and that he didn't need to see the seal. Embarrassed at his own insistence, Naruto released his shirt and blushed a little bit as he crossed his arms. He soon faced the Sandaime as he told him all about what he had done in order to fix the seal on his stomach and return him back to normal.

"Yes," he answered, "I called someone to take a look at it and fix it. With a little luck on our side, he's arrived here in Konoha now. He knows a lot about fūinjutsu, so he will be able to reverse the seal Orochimaru used without fail."

Naruto smiled and said, "It's about time; it wouldn't be fair if I continue on with the exams with this extra seal…"

"I understand," nodded the Sandaime, "I will see to it that the man I hired will be here soon."

The rookie shinobi rested his hands on the bed beneath him and asked, "Who is he?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi flinched a little bit when he was asked and he seemed to hesitate. The other wizard hidden from view noticed the old man faltered a little bit in him movements and he seemed to want to hold back on an answer. But soon, the old man cleared his throat and told Naruto more about the man that was soon to come to his rescue.

The old man answered the oblivious rookie but he sounded vulnerable or restrained while he said it, "His name is Jiraiya, and he's one of the other famous Sannin. He was an old student of mine and an old friend… at least I like to think he still is… I haven't talked to him since… Well, around the same time when we started to live at the same estate… We haven't been on the best of terms since then…"

"Where is he?" the rookie asked.

Sarutobi shook his head and answered, "I'm not sure… But I have to admit that I am afraid that he won't be here on time… In the event that he doesn't arrive in time for the final examination, I feel that these will be required in the final exam, Naruto-kun."

The old man reached into his robes and withdrew a small translucent container filled to the brim with medicine. Naruto observed the substance inside and looked shocked as the old man offered him the medicine when he realized what it was.

"Soldier pills?"

The Sandaime nodded and answered, "Yes… Jiraiya wasn't the most reliable student I ever had when it came to a deadline, so in the event that he doesn't arrive in time to fix the seal before the next exam starts, then take these. You will be on the same level as the other rookies for at least one hour with the aid of this medicine. If he doesn't arrive, make sure to take them."

"Isn't that cheating?" the blonde-haired shinobi asked.

But the old man dismissed him and insisted, "No, it's not. Soldier pills are considered shinobi tools in events such as the Chunin Exams. It would be considered unfair to enter a tournament with sabotaged chakra control. But I have to admit that these are a little bit different from the standard soldier pills. It has more of a kick to them; so make sure to take them around the same time as the exam starts. Is that understood, Naruto-kun?"

"Yes sir!" the blonde rookie saluted to the old man and smiled at the same time.

The Sandaime chuckled and commented, "I see Iruka has started to rub off his influence over the once untamable Naruto Uzumaki."

"Heh!" the child returned with, "The same could be said for him too!"

From there on out, the Sandaime and Naruto Uzumaki took some time and talked about familiar trivial nonsense. The kind of talks the two of them shared back when both lived at the Sarutobi estate. The old man needed the break after all the hell he had been stormed into with the incident of Orochimaru and Sasuke Uchiha. He needed five minutes to have a normal conversation with someone other than an ANBU, Kakashi, or a worried member of the council. All he wanted was to be with someone he liked; so he sat there in the medical center and listened with interest as Naruto told him all about the adventures he had ever since he had become a rookie. While the child left out all the details that involved his secret abilities, the old man found his treks across all of Konoha and the Land of Waves to be a lot more engaging than a massive amount of documents and paperwork that needed his signature. It was moments like these; little conversations and stories about mindless babble about rookie missions and chores that made Sarutobi feel warm inside and also nostalgic. Naruto and his little missions (while dull compared to the feats and accomplishments soon to come in the child's future) reminded him what it was like to be a shinobi, back when times were much easier and the world didn't seem as dark or routine as it was to him now. Sarutobi was an old man but it was children and rookies such as Naruto Uzumaki in front of him that whisked him back to the times he wished he could return to.

When Naruto finished his stories, it felt like a small vacation had been cut short. Hiruzen realized what time it was and knew that the council would be furious and intolerable if he was late. The old man would have to return soon and make sure that the civilians are never made aware of the recent incidents. He looked to the blonde-haired shinobi with a sad smile who returned his smile as he sensed the end of their little convention.

The old man said, "I've missed our little conversations… so much, Naruto-kun…"

"Me too, Grandpa…" the child nodded.

Sarutobi soon stood to his feet and the ANBU outside slid the doors and awaited their leader, "Well then, I have to leave and take care of business now, Naruto-kun. The Third Exam starts tomorrow at noon. Make sure to relax here for a little while more and then we can find another room close to Sakura-chan soon. You are free to wander around the tower tomorrow but are forbidden to leave with Orochimaru on the loose. Make sure to arrive at the stadium on the first floor at the end of the week to start the exam with the other rookies. Is that understood?"

Naruto nodded his head and bid his favorite elder a fond farewell as he soon turned to leave with the ANBU at his sides.

* * *

Once Sarutobi had left the medical center, Naruto lied down on his bed and returned to his subconscious. It took a little bit more time than usual thanks to the extra seal, but soon he returned to his older brother's chambers and found him in another chamber outside the bedroom, on a couch near the warm fire and all the relics from his time in school. The older wizard relaxed as he stared at the enchanted flames and watched them shift colors of scarlet, blue, and even emerald each time the fire crackled and released an incredible scent in the air. The blonde-haired wizard waltzed around another chair across from his wise mentor. He sat down and tried to relax his sore and tender muscles but also seemed a little bit nervous or worried even while the chair he sat on was one of the warmest and most comfortable seats in the entire subconscious realm. Naruto looked to his older brother and then he asked him about the matter that was on his mind.

"You think he believed me?" he asked him.

The wizard sat back in his seat and answered, "I'm not sure. Sarutobi's face was difficult to read until he mentioned this Jiraiya character… But even if he didn't believe it, Sasuke and Sakura's accounts on the events will convince him that it's the truth. You'll have to remember to add in other small details on the events here and there but make sure that the basic 'truth' is consistent, so that it doesn't sound like it's been rehearsed. If the recollections sound rehearsed or too similar, the shinobi or even the ANBU could detect that it's a lie. You see, it's an old tactic that the Germans used in World War II to find out whenever someone lied. It wouldn't shock me if another culture from another world such as this one would be able to think of similar lie-detection method. Shinobi are barbaric, but are also clever."

Naruto took a breath as he sank further into his soft chair while his older brother leaned backed, reached back, and then rested his head in his hands. Naruto did a similar motion while he flashed back to the events of the battle. Most of them were unclear after he was slammed into the trees but then he remembered that his mentor had taken control over him for a while and wanted to know what it was like for him to have returned to the real world for a short while and how it felt to battle one of the most formidable shinobi on earth.

He asked his older brother, "So… You had fun kickin' that snake-teme across the world and back, Nii-san?"

"Yes, I did," the older wizard smirked as he leaned back further, but then he turned more solemn as he was certain his little one will have remembered the events when the demon took control for the second time, "But… You must be real furious with me when I accessed the demon's chakra and then later took control over at the end of the battle, huh?"

But Naruto shook his head, "No, not at all. You had to do what needed to be done in order to save us, Nii-san. But I sure do wish I could have been there to see it. You must have looked so cool while in control over me."

"It sure was convenient," the wizard nodded but then he frowned a little bit, "But don't make a habit out of it. Your irises switch colors whenever someone else is in control over the host's consciousness."

The blonde wizard nodded and sank back into his seat, "Got it."

Harry then sat closer to his little brother and decided to distract him from the recent traumatic events in order to ease the obvious stress he felt. The older wizard sounded enthusiastic as he reminded the child that he was still in the middle of the examinations.

"So…" he smiled as he reminded the child in a more cheerful tone than usual, "The Third Exam is around the corner now. I almost can't believe that it's almost done. You'll be a chunin before the week is even out!"

But the blonde wizard stared at his hands and showed the older wizard that he had doubts about the exams now, "I wouldn't be so sure about that. You think that medicine from Sarutobi will even work on me?"

"Sure," he said as he remained truthful as well as informative, "I took a look at them and it seems like the old man told the truth. It's an enhancement that should create the same amount of chakra if the seal hadn't been defiled like it was. But it will be difficult to control the enhancement. Orochimaru sure did a number on that old seal. Make sure to take them when the match starts and end the match ASAP."

Naruto crossed his arms and said, "That other Sannin better make it here soon…"

"Don't be too worried about it, mate," the dark-haired sorcerer said, "Even if the Sannin doesn't arrive on time, at least Sarutobi made it so that our match will be fair. But even with a diminished chakra control, no one on earth can be as resourceful and clever as the famous Naruto Ignotus Uzumaki."

The blonde-haired wizard smiled a little bit and said, "Thanks…"

Harry reached out to mess around with Naruto's ruffled hair and made him chuckle. He then stood to stretch out his arms while he walked around the chamber in order to find another distraction from the incident with Orochimaru. He decided the best method of distraction would be to start another lesson. It had been a while since Naruto learned a new charm and he felt it would be best to teach him one that would serve him well, since Naruto was at a Fourth Year level at least.

"Well then… Now that we're here, we should test to make sure that extra seal doesn't affect a wizard's incredible skills and abilities… So how about we learn a new charm?" he asked with a wide and adorable smirk.

Naruto beamed as the chakra-burns in his muscles vanished in an instant, "It's about time!"

The older wizard smiled as Naruto started to follow him out of the current chamber in an over-enthusiastic manner like when he was six. The new chamber was reconstructed to resemble his old DADA classroom, but this time the rows and desks were removed and instead filled to the brim with boxes and wooden chairs scattered all across the area. The familiar skeleton of the dragon loomed over the two wizards as the two of them entered the vast chamber and faced each other. Naruto's clothes were transformed into his school uniform, minus the robes, the tie, the black dress shoes, and all the colors that represented Gryffindor House. The blonde wizard loved the fact that he would have been sorted there had he been a Hogwarts student, but it didn't seem to make sense to wear the exact colors of a House of a school that didn't even exist in his world. Still, he felt more comfortable in the clothes he wore now while he took out his wand and smiled at his older brother as he also took out his wand and started one of his short lectures.

Harry cleared his throat and then he started, "The charm we will work on this time is called the Seize and Pull Charm. As the name states: whenever used the charm shoots out an almost unbreakable lasso that latches onto a solid target. This charm can be used like an indestructible cable while the user concentrates and maintains the charm via the wand. You can use this in the heat of a battle to seize someone at the feet and toss a shinobi or kunoichi across certain areas and terrains. With a little luck, the sudden hurl could knock someone out if the victim is slammed into a wall or it could even be used to break someone's neck if the charm is used in a more violent manner and if the victim moves too fast…" the older wizard hesitated at what he said and then he said as he rubbed the back of his head and smiled, "But… let's make sure we don't have to resort to that."

"Noted," nodded the blonde wizard and smiled in a more humorous manner, "No broken necks."

The much older sorcerer nodded and continued, "Good. Now the incantation for this charm is Carpe Retractum."

"Carpe Retractum… Carpe Retractum… Carpe Retractum…" the blonde child memorized the words as he chanted it to himself until it was stuck inside his head and he nodded, "Got it!"

Harry smiled as he cleaned his wand and demonstrated the movements, "Excellent. In order to use this charm; first reel back the arm, aim the wand at the victim, and release the charm with the incantation. Follow after me."

The older wizard faced a wooden box in between him and his blonde little one. He blinked and then he reeled his arm back as the end of his wand radiated with heat. He then slashed the air with his wand as if it were a sword while Naruto stared and made sure he never missed even one detail as if he could watch the scene that followed in slow motion.

The older wizard shouted, "_Carpe Retractum!_"

And at once, there was a flash and then an elastic orange lasso shot out from the end of his wand and the end latched onto the box he aimed for. While the wizard was not a shinobi, it sure did look like he could have been an excellent one as the elastic bands latched around the box and almost cracked the wood it was bound towards. He then thrust his arm to the side and the box the charm was attached to was tossed across the classroom and tumbled into several other chairs and boxes that were scattered all around him and his little brother. Naruto stared in awe and couldn't wait to test his skills.

He said and then shouted, "Whoa… Me next!"

Naruto ran into the middle of the area to choose which box or chair he wanted to use and toss around the room. Once he had selected a box to use, he wouldn't rest until he had mastered the newest charm. But before the blonde rookie could even reel back his arm, his wise mentor held him back and made sure he listened to his stern and detailed directions before the small wizard made a mistake and caused the lasso to burst out and tie him into a mess.

"Make sure to maintain control over the charm. The Seize and Pull Charm is not too different from the Levitation Charm as far as concentration is concerned. Go ahead now and let's see what we can do," he said as he released his brother's wand arm and made sure he attained a distance so that he wasn't slammed with a box or a chair.

The small blonde wizard then saw a box from across the classroom, he aimed at it, reeled his arm back, and then he shouted, "_Carpe Retractum!_"

There was another flash and the lasso burst out of his wand like it did before and latched around the box he had aimed at. Once attached to the box, the band constricted into a firm wire, and then Naruto thrust his arm back with all the strength in his torso. The box flew into the air and Naruto beamed until he noticed the box was about to hit him in the head. He frowned and then he ducked down as fast as he could before he knocked back into the real world.

He shouted as he ducked, "WHOA!"

And the box soared over his head and crashed behind him while his older brother observed his little brother with his arms crossed. Naruto stood after he heard the crash and saw the box smashed on the floor between two other untouched wooden boxes. At first he was relieved that he wasn't hurt, and then Naruto smiled and chuckled that he was successful in the use of the charm.

"Cool…" he breathed out as he smiled.

The older dark-haired wizard then commented after he looked at the box and then his little student, "You could use a little more finesse."

* * *

{{_Spell Atmos by Jeremy Soule_}}

When Naruto returned to the real world several hours later when he started to master the Seized and Pull Charm, he stared out his window and watched as the sun started to set into the trees of the forest outside. He was certain the other rookies were out there in the woods and almost felt bad for them while he sat down in his somewhat comfortable bed while most of the other rookies out there were stuck outside and had to rest with kunai in their hands. But while the blonde-haired rookie was able to rest with a mattress and a warm blanket, he remained restless as he wondered about his teammates. He wanted to see them and make sure at least one of them was fine.

He looked down at his feet hidden under the smooth white sheets and tested all his muscles. Naruto wasn't as sore as he was earlier and he was certain he would be able to leave the medical center and search for his teammates in the tower. He looked over the bed to see his clothes folded on a table and abandoned he his mattress in favor for one little adventure. Naruto climbed down his bed and discovered he could walk like normal while the burns in his muscles were now so minimal that it didn't bother him. He switched outfits but left his coat behind in case someone came around and wondered where he was as he soon sneaked out of the center. He ducked down underneath the window that lead into the nurse's office and soon waltzed down the hall for the rooms Sarutobi mentioned earlier. With a little luck, he would be able to find at least one of his teammates on his own.

He searched several halls and checked the names that were written down on dried eraser boards attached to the doors where the rookies that survived were able to shower and rest. There weren't a lot of teams that made it so far and so most of the dried eraser boards were blank. But those few that were filled out included names, village of origin, and the time it took them to reach the tower and finish the exam. Naruto saw that the Oto rookies had made it, as well as Gai's team, but then he noticed that the one rookie team had made it as well. But his interest in the team's arrival to the tower was more centered on the time it took for them to finish the exam. It said on their dried-eraser board that Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari arrived an hour and a half after the test had started. This shocked Naruto and his brother as the two of them stared at their names and wondered how fast and skilled this team was to have obtained their scrolls and arrive here at the tower in such a short amount of time. But to be honest, Naruto didn't think much about Kankuro since he defeated and humiliated him earlier before the exams even started. His concern about this rookie team from Suna overall was more focused on Gaara and Temari, since he never seen them in action. While he stared at their names and wondered about them, Naruto felt his forehead burn and soon after heard someone at the other side of the door and saw a shadow. He soon dismissed the burn on his forehead and walked as fast as he could from the door and headed towards the closest staircase. After he left the corridor, the shadow that loomed out soon returned to the room.

* * *

Naruto walked down the stairs to a new corridor. There were windows that curved with the rest of the tower and there were more rooms lined with benches and chairs in between each door and almost all of the white boards on them were blank. The blonde shinobi walked down the hall, checked the doors, and distracted himself with the dark forest on the other side of the windows he was sure wouldn't hold back a crazed white-skinned Sannin unless there were defensive charms or seals hidden on said windows. As Naruto fantasized what it would be like if his world were more like the one his older brother came from, he heard a noise and sensed someone at the end of the corridor. The voice sounded familiar and whomever it was he was certain he heard sobs.

Once he stood closer to the source of the noise, Naruto realized who it was at once. He had found Sakura, and she sat there alone on a bench next to the door that had her name written on the small white board. She had a small but warm blanket swathed around her and she was dressed in white clothes with her headband removed, so her fuchsia hair started to cover some of her wide forehead like it did in the time before she even met Naruto and had a crush on Sasuke Uchiha. She covered her face and tried to mask her obvious sobs as she remained outside her room and cried.

Naruto frowned at his teammate in sadness and started to walk over to her. He was slow and didn't want to scare her, as she remained oblivious to him until he announced himself from a fair distance. Naruto couldn't stomach to see his crush in such a state and was determined to fix whatever it was that had been done.

"Sakura-chan," he said, and soon cleared his throat and looked sad to see his teammate in such an emotional state.

The kunoichi twitched in astonishment and then she did her best to hide the tears on her face and clean them with her sleeves before her blonde-haired teammate could see. She sniffled and hid her face until it was somewhat clean and whatever cosmetics she had earlier were erased from existence.

"Naruto… You're awake?" she asked while she continued to wipe her face clean.

Naruto nodded and walked over to the bench to sit down beside her. He made sure he maintained a safe distance in case she was defensive and wanted him to stand back. But she never hissed at him and threw back a hurtful remark. Instead, she looked at him and sniffled as she failed to hide the fact that she had cried for what looked like a while. And it would seem that no one had been around to talk to talk or comfort her. She remained silent until her teammate wondered what in the world was the matter.

He asked in a soft and warm voice, "Why are you crying?"

"I-I don't know…" she shook her head and she started to break down all over again as she talked more and more, "I-I haven't seen Sasuke-kun since that horrible battle in the forest… N-no one has talked to me since… a-and I-I-I don't even know what's the matter, I-I don't know where Sasuke-kun is, o-o-or Kakashi-sensei, and I-I-I don't know what to do! I'm so s-scared and I'm s-s-s-so useless!"

Sakura's face had turned red and tears rolled down her cheeks as her voice cracked at the last word she said. She had fallen into another wave of silent sobs as tears raced down her face in torrents. Naruto felt his heart sink in his chest as she watched her emotional breakdown. He felt so bad for her and felt the need to comfort her, so he reached out a hand to her and rested it on her shoulder. She twitched at the contact but then the killer-kunoichi let him hold on. Sakura would have struck her teammate across the face if he ever so much as touched her, but instead she started to lean closer towards him and let him hold on.

Naruto was a little bit shocked that she never hit him, but soon he smiled at her and felt his heart rise inside his chest and swell with warm, as his cheeks blushed a little bit. Sakura turned to face her blonde-haired teammate and she felt her own heart start to rise and swell as well.

Naruto looked down at his sunken teammate and acted a lot like one of his older brothers whenever he was sad or felt downtrodden.

"It'll be fine now, Sakura-chan, I swear it," he smiled as he told her the truth in a voice that radiated with assurance and warmth, "Sasuke is downstairs with Kakashi-sensei now. And that mark on his neck has been sorted out with. The Sandaime said that he's fine. He had an outburst earlier when he came to, but he should be fine and we'll be able to see him at the end of the week. He'll be fine."

Sakura stared at her teammate and felt the tears on her face start to flow much slower than earlier. The blonde shinobi continued to talk in that same warmth and assurance.

"B-But what about that monster?" she asked, "W-What about Orochimaru?"

Naruto wasn't sure where that terrible man was, but if his mentor was able to land a curse on him, chances were that he wouldn't dare come back and face a wizard's wrath and he said with that same warm confidence, "That monster isn't a mile close to us now. With Kakashi-sensei and the ANBU in the tower, he wouldn't dare return and attack… We're safe now, Sakura-chan. And even if he does come back, I'll never let him near us a second time."

"Y-Y-You swear it?" the kunoichi asked one more time.

The blonde shinobi smiled and nodded, "Yes, Sakura-chan… You can count on me… After all, what are friends for?"

Sakura stared at Naruto Uzumaki and even started to crack a small but warm smile. She leaned close to her teammate as she held her hands close to her mouth and tried to reach for her blanket. Naruto noticed and so he raised the blanket back over her shoulders so that she remained warm. Naruto acted a lot more like his older brothers and failed to notice that his female teammate smiled and stared at him for a while. Sakura noticed that her blonde-haired teammate never reached out to embrace her but instead acted a lot like her mother would whenever she was bullied or hurt. After she had talked to Naruto, all of her worries and woes seemed to vanish now that she wasn't alone. She didn't feel as lost or scared as she did before, and now she looked forward to the future and safe while she was with her once idiotic teammate. She started to reflect on his behavior when the exams started, the intellect he showed in the forest, as well as how he treated her now and Sakura started to re-think about how she felt about Naruto Uzumaki. She then leaned closer to him as exhaustion started to overwhelm her.

She muttered in a low and even sweet voice, "Naruto…"

"Yeah?" he asked.

Sakura hesitated and blushed a little bit out of frustration aimed at herself when she remembered and realized how horrible and unfair she had been to her teammate ever since the two of them were in school when it now seemed that all he ever wanted was to be friends.

She let out several hidden and remorseful tears while she admitted in that same uncommon voice, "Thanks so much… You're the best…"

Naruto smiled and then he blushed a little bit, "You're welcome, Sakura Haruno."

* * *

To Be Continued…

* * *

**And we're done with this new one!**

**Now, in this new version of this chapter I left out the Carpe Retractum Spell Challenge inside the mindscape (which was derived from the Prisoner of Azkaban PC game), as well as the scene where Naruto was somehow able to tie himself into a mess with said charm before he mastered it mere seconds after he learned the words, I also cut out the random moment where Naruto flees the scene where two shinobi are snogging and kick him out (who were supposed to be Hayate Gekko and his ANBU girlfriend, but I failed to address that in the previous version), and I also left out a few somewhat repetitive conversations between Naruto, Iruka, and the Sandaime. And that's about it!**

**Naruto: Oh, I see it now… This is much better!**

**K: That whole chapter was ok then, huh?**

**N: It was a little boring. But at least it answered some questions. And Sakura-chan and I are closer than ever now! Woot!**

**AZ44: You idiots! NaruHina has been confirmed! Don't deliver false hope to the readers like that! Besides, I hate NaruSaku! It doesn't make sense and it would never work out between them! She's a total bitch and a horrible teammate and a terrible excuse for a friend to Naruto! She insults him all the time, she hits him all the time, she's useless, she is selfish to no end, and she's still devoted to that two-faced bitch Sasuke!**

**K: Oh-no! He'll start another debate! We need to silence him!**

**AZ44: I WILL NOT BE SILENCED!**

**N: Quick! Use this! (He tosses over the Phantom Zone Projector)**

**K: Brilliant work! Azeroth! Look over here!**

**AZ44: What's that?**

**K: Say cheese!**

**(Activates the device and shots Azeroth44 until he vanishes into the Phantom Zone, while a shadow clone comes out of nowhere and covers Naruto's ears so that he doesn't hear about his future)**

**He should be fine in there until the next couple of chapters. And I want to take this opportunity to make one thing clear: Sakura and Naruto's relationship is drastically different in Dark Path of Shinobi, where I bash her in a more extreme manner and where she's vicious and merciless to Naruto. But I should mention that Book 5 will be re-written in the future and the scenes with Sakura there will be much different. I won't list the details of their future here, but I can assure the audience that it won't be as extreme as it was in Dark Path of Shinobi.**

**And that's the latest chapter and news! Make sure to leave behind a review if you liked it and I'll see you guys next time! Later!**


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